US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Emil Bove, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, July 29, to serve as a federal appellate judge. This decision was made in a narrow 50-49 partisan vote.
Despite strong opposition from Democrats, who staged a walkout during a Senate committee meeting earlier this month, the Republican-controlled Senate approved Bove’s lifetime appointment to the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, broke ranks and voted against Bove. However, the GOP’s 53-47 majority was sufficient to confirm him. Bove, a 44-year-old former federal prosecutor, was nominated by Trump while serving as the Justice Department’s third-ranking official.
Democrats sharply criticized the nomination. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dick Durbin accused Bove of being overly loyal to President Trump and of siding with the January 6 Capitol rioters. He also criticized Bove for firing career prosecutors who were pursuing cases related to the riot.
The 3rd Circuit covers Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim condemned Bove’s record, describing it as “marred by a pattern of abusive behavior, ethical breaches, and a disregard for the norms of judicial integrity.”
Legal opposition was widespread. Over 900 former Justice Department attorneys wrote to the Judiciary Committee, expressing their “intolerable” concern that someone who “disgraces the Justice Department” would be elevated to a top court. Additionally, more than 75 retired judges deemed the nomination “deeply inappropriate” for a president’s criminal defense attorney.
Bove represented Trump in the New York case that resulted in the former president’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments. He also defended Trump in two federal criminal cases that were subsequently dropped after Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Earlier this year, Bove made a controversial decision to order federal prosecutors to drop bribery and fraud charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. This move led to resignations within the Manhattan US attorney’s office and the Justice Department. Bove vehemently denied allegations that the decision was a quid pro quo linked to Adams’ support for Trump’s immigration policies.
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