Emil Bove, a top Department of Justice (DOJ) official who previously served as President Donald Trump’s personal defense attorney, was confirmed on Tuesday to be a judge on the powerful 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bove eked out a victory after a contentious confirmation process that included a number of whistleblower complaints related to his actions at the DOJ. He was ultimately confirmed by a vote of 50-49, with two Republican senators voting against him and one Republican not voting.
The Context
Bove’s elevation to the 3rd Circuit—which hears cases from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware—came after he was accused by whistleblowers of suggesting that the Trump administration may have to ignore judicial orders. Bove has vehemently denied the allegations.
Democrats have also excoriated Bove over his role in dismissing the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and criticized his efforts to investigate DOJ and FBI officials involved in prosecutions connected to the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
What To Know
The two Republican senators who voted against confirming Bove were:
Alaska’s Lisa MurkowskiMaine’s Susan Collins
Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee did not vote.
The first whistleblower complaint against Bove came from Erez Reuveni, a former DOJ lawyer who was fired in April after conceding in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who had been living in Maryland, was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison.
In his complaint, Reuveni detailed attempts by top DOJ officials in the weeks before his firing to stonewall and mislead judges as part of a broader effort to deliver on Trump’s pledge to ramp up deportations.
He described a DOJ meeting in March about Trump’s plan to invoke the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to carry out the deportations of migrants the administration has accused of belonging to the notorious Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang.
At that meeting, Reuveni said, Bove noted that a court might block the deportations and that the DOJ might have to “ignore any such order” from the courts.
Bove rebuked Reuveni’s allegations, saying earlier that he had “no recollection of saying anything of that kind.”
Francis Chung/Politico, via AP Images
Bove was previously a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and worked on Trump’s legal team during the president’s hush-money trial in New York. Bove also defended Trump in two federal criminal cases against him, both of which were dismissed after the president won the 2024 election.
What People Are Saying
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats said in an X post ahead of Bove’s confirmation on Tuesday: “Three whistleblowers have come forward to tell us the truth about Emil Bove. It’s troubling that Senate Republicans refused to hear their testimonies in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey posted to X on Monday: “We must say no to Emil Bove. Over 900 former DOJ officials say he’s unfit — accusing him of silencing career prosecutors and undermining court decisions. We need judges with independence and integrity, not loyalty to a single man.”
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana defended Bove on Tuesday, telling CNN’s Kasie Hunt: “I know we have a lot of whistleblowers, but let me see how I can put this, Kasie. If everyone’s a racist, no one’s a racist. If everyone’s corrupt, no one is corrupt. If my Democratic colleagues are going to trot out whistleblowers two and three at a time every time we have a nominee they don’t agree with, they sort of lose their efficacy. And that’s the situation we’re in right now.”
Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty celebrated Bove’s confirmation, writing on X: “HE’S IN: Trump federal judicial nominee Emil Bove CONFIRMED BY THE US SENATE, 50-49. That’s ONE MORE anti-liberal activist on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Bove is Trump’s former lawyer.”
What Happens Next
Bove will now head to a lifetime seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
