JUST IN: Senate Confirms Pivotal Trump Judicial Nominee

Emil Bove, the Trump-appointed nominee to become the next judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, was officially confirmed by the U.S. Senate Tuesday despite furious efforts to block his nomination from the upper chamber’s Democrats.

Bove was confirmed by a narrow vote of 50-49 largely along partisan lines, with no support from Democrats. His confirmation for the lifetime role follows a weeks-long, and oftentimes contentious vetting process that included three whistleblower complaints and vehement opposition from Democrat lawmakers and their base.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said that he supported Bove’s nomination and believed the nominee had been the target of “unfair accusations and abuse” just before the final floor vote.

“He has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be a diligent, capable, and fair jurist,” Grassley said.

Bove previously worked as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where he led high-profile terrorism and drug trafficking cases through 2019. He later worked with current Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at his private practice, where the two worked on President Trump’s legal team as he battled a number of politically-motivated prosecutions between 2023 and 2024.

Both Bove and Blanche were seated beside the president in the highly controversial “hush money” case in Manhattan, which resulted in the only criminal conviction across four cases filed against the president by Democrat district attorneys and the Biden-led Department of Justice.

Prior to his nomination, Bove most recently served as principal associate deputy attorney general at the DOJ. During his brief time with the Trump DPJ, he presided over a number of firings of FBI officials and prosecutors.

Attorney General Pam Bondi congratulated Bove on his confirmation in an X post. “This is a GREAT day for our country,” she wrote. “I cannot thank Emil enough for his tireless work and support at @TheJusticeDept. He will be missed — and he will be an outstanding judge.”

Two Senate Republicans, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against Bove’s confirmation.

Democrats had fiercely opposed Bove’s nomination and attempted to prevent a floor vote, citing testimony from Biden era prosecutors who criticized his tenure at SDNY and made several accusations of misconduct, which Bove has vehemently denied.

In an unusual move, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, in an unusual move, staged a walkout at a hearing on Bove before a recent vote to advance his nomination. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) referred to Bove as a “henchman” for Trump, a moniker that was widely adopted by Senate Democrats and their base.

“He’s the extreme of the extreme,” Schumer told reporters. “He’s not a jurist. He’s a Trumpian henchman. That seems to be the qualification for appointees these days.”