Trump announces pick of Emil Bove to be appeals court judge

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on May 28, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will nominate Justice Department official Emil Bove, one of his former defense attorneys, to be a federal appeals court judge, setting up a high-profile Senate confirmation clash.

Trump had previously named Bove to be principal associate deputy attorney general, a role that does not require Senate confirmation. Bove also served as acting deputy attorney general, where he established himself as a key player in the administration’s push to overhaul the department.

Bove and Todd Blanche, now deputy attorney general, were counsel for Trump in the two federal criminal cases brought by former special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith, one in Washington which accused Trump of crimes connected to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and another in Florida which accused him of illegally keeping classified documents after his first term.

And Blanche and Bove also served on Trump’s defense team in the New York state case where he was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records connected to his 2016 run for office.

The federal cases were dismissed because of a Justice Department policy that sitting presidents cannot be charged. And Trump received an unconditional discharge for the state convictions, meaning no jail time or penalties, since he was about to start his White House duties.

Trump, in a social media post announcing the pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, did not mention that past representation. The president wrote that Bove is a graduate of Georgetown Law and served as assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade.

“He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump wrote. “Emil Bove will never let you down!”

The 3rd Circuit hears appeals from federal courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands.

Since joining the Justice Department, Bove has drawn criticism for DOJ personnel moves and the dropping of charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Democratic members of Congress have called for a watchdog investigation and filed complaints.

And Danielle Sassoon, then-acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote a resignation memo in February that said Bove in a memo had directed her to “dismiss an indictment returned by a duly constituted grand jury for reasons having nothing to do with the strength of the case.” Several other prosecutors also withdrew from the case before Bove himself moved to have it dismissed.

A district judge who dismissed the case wrote that: “Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.”

In February, two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., filed ethics complaints against Bove.

They sent one complaint to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, and the other to the New York state court system’s Attorney Grievance Committee. Both complaints pointed to Bove’s involvement in the Adams case.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said he is “deeply concerned” with Bove’s nomination in social media posts that previewed the clash ahead in the confirmation process.

Durbin said Bove “abused his position in numerous ways” that led panel Democrats to file a professional misconduct complaint against him.

“Mr. Bove’s alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,” Durbin wrote.

“The silver lining of today’s news is that the Committee will now have the chance to question Mr. Bove, under oath, about his alleged professional misconduct and more,” Durbin wrote.

_____