The Senate confirmed Emil Bove as a federal appeals court judge on Tuesday, July 29, with a narrow vote of 50-49, mostly along party lines. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine broke ranks to vote against the confirmation, while Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty was absent.
The vote capped a highly contentious confirmation process. Bove, a principal associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice and a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, was named in three whistleblower complaints that accused him of prioritizing the president’s agenda over the law.
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The vote gives Bove a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, which takes legal cases from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands.
Why were some against Bove’s confirmation?
Bove was the most controversial of the 15 judges nominated by the president during his second term. Democratic senators and three whistleblowers argued he is unfit to serve as a judge, citing concerns about whether he could make impartial decisions free from political influence.
Bove’s nomination process also moved faster than usual, drawing criticism from Democrats who said the expedited timeline left inadequate time for a proper debate. Some senators even walked out of Bove’s confirmation hearing, accusing Republicans of stonewalling efforts to extend the discussion.
In a public letter, hundreds of former prosecutors also called on senators to oppose Bove’s appointment, stating that he is “the worst conceivable nominee” following his nomination in June.
Whistleblower accusations against Bove
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A judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals serves for life and can only be removed if the House of Representatives impeaches them.
Bove represented Trump in three of the four criminal cases against him and played a key role in firing long-time prosecutors and shaping immigration policy during the Trump administration.
Two whistleblowers allege that Bove told DOJ officials in a March meeting that they might have to ignore court orders that limit the president’s power to deport millions of migrants. One of the whistleblowers, identified as Erez Reuveni, was ousted from the DOJ in April. He has since gone public with his account.
As Straight Arrow News reported, a third whistleblower presented evidence to lawmakers that suggests Bove misled them during his confirmation hearing in June about his management of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ public corruption case. The DOJ later dismissed Adams’ charges. The move led to the firing of prosecutors at the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York as well as the Justice Department’s public integrity section.
Staff for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with the third whistleblower’s attorney on Monday to review the accusations.
Collins votes ‘no’
Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement obtained by The Washington Post that her reason for opposing Bove’s nomination was because of his “political profile and some of the actions he has taken in his leadership roles at the Department of Justice cause me to conclude he would not serve as an impartial jurist.”
Other Republicans remained supportive.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, who previously opposed Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney in D.C. over Jan. 6 ties, voted in favor of Bove. He said the third whistleblower’s delay in coming forward and the lack of evidence at the time of the vote factored into his decision in favor of Bove’s confirmation.
“If I get any recommendation to move forward and speak to a whistleblower, then I’d be open to that,” Tillis told The Washington Post before the vote. “But I’m not going to do it as a one-off. I think that we have to follow the committee process and make sure that whistleblower has at least attempted to reach out and have a meeting with the committee staff or the chair.”
