Trump’s controversial former attorney, Emil Bove, is one step closer to becoming a Philly-based federal judge
Bove's candidacy was sent to the U.S. Senate for a confirmation vote despite significant opposition from former judges and prosecutors.
Despite unusually public opposition from dozens of former judges, hundreds of former federal prosecutors, and many Democratic lawmakers, the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee agreed Thursday to advance the judicial nomination of Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official and former personal attorney for President Donald Trump.
Bove, 44, has been a controversial figure during the first six months of Trump’s second term as he has overseen the administration’s aggressive attempts to reshape the agency and the justice system at large.
And the depths of opposition from Senate Democrats became clear Thursday morning as nearly all of the party’s committee members walked out of the room when Republicans ignored a request for further debate and instead pushed to send Bove’s candidacy to the full chamber for approval.
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey continued to speak into his microphone as the committee members’ votes were cast, calling the process “absolutely insane” and saying it was being unnecessarily rushed.
“What are you afraid of about even debating this?” Booker asked. “Dear God, that’s what our obligations are — it’s to state our reasons for debate!”
The committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, was unswayed. And earlier in the hearing, he defended Bove’s candidacy, saying Bove had been targeted by unfair partisan attacks.
The scrutiny of Bove has been intense in recent weeks after Trump nominated him to fill a vacant seat on the federal appeals court based in Philadelphia — a prestigious role that comes with a lifetime appointment, and one that some observers believe could be a precursor for Trump to eventually nominate Bove to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
This week, more than 75 former judges signed a letter condemning Bove’s “egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself.” More than 900 former Justice Department employees signed a similar letter, accusing Bove of “trampling over institutional norms” and “cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ’s vital work.”
That criticism followed an explosive whistleblower complaint filed last month by a former Justice Department lawyer that accused Bove of saying he was willing to ignore court orders in order to fulfill Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Bove denied those allegations during a confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee several weeks ago.
Senate Democrats on Thursday also decried Bove’s role in seeking to fire federal prosecutors who secured convictions connected to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And they criticized his role earlier this year in dismissing a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams — a decision that led several prosecutors in New York and Washington to resign in protest.
But Republicans on the committee voted unanimously to send Bove’s nomination to the full Senate, where his candidacy will be weighed for final approval. Grassley, the committee chair, said that Bove “deserves fair treatment” and that “the vicious partisan attacks … [have] to stop."
And Grassley denied efforts by Democrats, including Booker, to delay the vote on Bove’s nomination in order to seek testimony from the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni.
Booker was among those who questioned whether Bove had lied before the committee while seeking to deny Reuveni’s allegations. And he said he didn’t understand why the committee would not seek to have Reuveni testify about his contentions and allow panelists to weigh his credibility.
Grassley, however, suggested that he had already made up his mind, casting Reuveni’s complaints as part of a “political hit job” timed for “maximum media splash with minimal substance.”
“The manner and timing of this disclosure isn’t how the process should have played out,” he said.
The appeals court on which Bove has been nominated to serve is formally known as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and it handles cases involving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands. If confirmed, Bove would fill a vacant New Jersey seat, and his appointment would be for life.
Still, some have questioned if Trump may have higher aims for Bove, who has been accused of having unfailing loyalty to Trump — his former client — rather than following the law.
Bove, during his confirmation hearing last month, denied allegations of impropriety, saying he was “not anybody’s henchman, I am not an enforcer,” and later adding: “I did not suggest that there would be any need to consider ignoring court orders.”
The fate of Bove’s nomination will now head to the full U.S. Senate for a vote, where Bove would need 51 votes to secure his position on the appellate bench. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber.
Bove previously worked as a criminal defense attorney for Trump, including when Trump was convicted at trial last year of concealing hush-money payments to a porn star to avoid damaging his 2016 presidential campaign. Before that, Bove served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, where he was accused by some coworkers of having a brusque and unyielding management style.