Democrats challenge whether Emil Bove's controversial judicial nomination advanced after they walked out of vote

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: NBC News

Democrats challenge whether Emil Bove's controversial judicial nomination advanced after they walked out of vote

Republicans say the nominations of former Trump lawyer Bove and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro were sent to the full Senate. Democrats say that's in question.

July 17, 2025, 12:58 PM EDT
By Frank Thorp V and Dareh Gregorian

Democrats walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday to advance senior Justice Department official Emil Bove's nomination for a federal judgeship, alleging Republicans improperly rushed the process. ... A spokesperson for the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that as a result, it is an open question whether the nominations of Bove, who previously was President Donald Trump's personal defense lawyer, and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, whom the president has picked for U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia, are moving forward.

The spokesperson said the Republican majority broke several rules with its actions, and that Democrats would make their case to the Senate parliamentarian that the votes should be voided. ... A spokesperson for the committee's Republican chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said there is no dispute, and both Bove's nomination to the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Pirro's nomination can move ahead to the full Senate.

The fireworks started after Grassley announced he was holding the vote on Bove's nomination even though some Democratic members of the panel had yet to speak about the nominee. ... "This is out of order," said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Grassley, as his colleagues walked out. "This is absolutely insane. What is the rush?"

"If you want to force this through, if you want to ram this through, there's a way to do this in accordance with the rules," Booker said. ... "This lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows you do not want to simply hear from your colleagues. This is absolutely wrong," Booker continued, and "you don't even seem to care." ... "This is an abuse of power," he added, and walked out himself after he was done with his objection.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-challenge-whether-emil-boves-controversial-judicial-nominati-rcna219346

[underpants]

1. Video from X

Link to tweet

?s=46&t=3VBm1LJ8j8qLp6JTs_8J2A

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Maddow Blog-Republicans shrug off laundry list of scandals, advance Emil Bove's judicial nomination

Bove is arguably the single-most controversial circuit court nominee in modern American history. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t care.

By some measures, Emil Bove, a former Trump defense attorney, is one of the most controversial circuit court nominees in modern American history, opposed by several dozen former judges and 900+ former DOJ lawyers.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee didn’t care.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-07-17T15:09:18.340Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/emil-bove-trump-judge-nomination-senate-republicans-rcna218833

That didn’t happen. NBC News reported:

A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley says that Bove’s nomination had been reported out of committee to the full Senate, even though Democrats on the committee walked out in protest of the lack of debate and the refusal to hold a vote on whether to hold a hearing with a whistleblower before they voted.

Shortly before the vote, the panel's Democratic members walked out of the hearing room in protest, with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey describing the process as "insane."
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:h7qtoo7nxqxarrsijohjhbw4/post/3lu6bvfc3oc2c

Link to tweet

In fact, after the committee's Republicans voted in support of Bove, members of the Democratic minority, led by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, suggested the issue of whether Bove was actually reported out was still an open question and may be referred to the Senate parliamentarian because, as Democrats argued, Republicans broke procedural rules.......

Just as importantly, if not more so, Erez Reuveni, a 15-year veteran Justice Department prosecutor, recently came forward as a whistleblower to tell senators that Bove repeatedly endorsed ignoring court orders and deliberately misleading judges. In a case involving the Alien Enemies Act and the administration’s alleged violation of a court order regarding deportation flights, Reuveni also described a meeting during which Bove “stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts ‘f--- you’ and ignore any such court order.”.....

Bove’s nomination now advances to the Senate floor for confirmation. To defeat him, four GOP senators would have to break ranks with the party, which seems unlikely. Watch this space.

trump is looking to appoint Bove to the SCOTUS when either Alito or Thomas retires