Emil Bove’s appointment to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit cleared a key procedural hurdle Thursday afternoon following Democrats’ efforts to derail his nomination.
The Senate voted to advance Bove’s nomination to a vote on final passage 50 to 48 with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joining Democrats to vote “no.” Democrats fiercely opposed Bove’s nomination to the federal bench and walked out of debate on it at the committee level in an attempt to obstruct proceedings. (RELATED: ‘This Is Outrageous!’: Dem Senators Throw Tantrum, Walk Out Of Meeting To Protest Trump Judicial Nominee Vote)
Bove is a former Trump defense lawyer and served as acting deputy attorney general before being nominated to the lifetime appointment.
Senate Democrats sought to block Bove’s nomination, claiming that a whistleblower’s testimony alleged the senior Department of Justice Official told the agency’s lawyers to ignore court orders — an assertion that Bove denies.
Schumer called Bove “one of Donald Trump’s nastiest judicial nominees to date” and “beyond unqualified” for a seat on the Third Circuit, during a speech on the Senate floor Thursday. Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the judiciary panel, shouted in protest of Bove’s nomination while Republican members of the committee advanced his appointment during a roll call vote.
Murkowski and Collins, two moderate GOP senators who have demonstrated a willingness to buck the president on a wide array of issues, justified their “no” vote by questioning if Bove would put loyalty to the president over serving as an impartial judge.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 30: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) walks towards the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“We have to have judges who will adhere to the rule of law and the Constitution and do so regardless of what their personal views may be,” Collins said in a statement Tuesday. “Mr. Bove’s 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.”
The majority of Senate Republicans, however, defended Bove’s nomination, citing his decorated experience as a former prosecutor.
“Mr. Bove has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said during a business meeting on Bove’s nomination on July 17.
“Because he worked for President Trump, he is now a target – a target of a politically-motivated hit job,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming said on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
“The kicker of all of this is that Democrats’ radical nominee for the Third Circuit in 2024 – this same position – was opposed by more than twenty police groups,” Barrasso continued. “They relented only after President Trump won the election.”
Democrats’ intentional slow-walking of Bove’s is part of a wider campaign the caucus is pursuing to set up unprecedented roadblocks that have thwarted Trump’s ability to quickly get his team in place.
“Democrats in the Senate seem to have a new litmus test,” Barrasso also said. “If President Trump nominates you, Democrats are against you. Period. End of story.”
“The president has choices and we should respect that,” Republican West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice told the DCNF. “He was elected for crying out loud.”
Bove is the fifth Trump judicial nominee on track to win confirmation. The Senate has confirmed 107 of Trump’s nominees as of July 24, according to the Senate Republican Communications Center (SRCC).
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