Trump to Tap His Former Lawyer Emil Bove for Third Circuit (3)

President Donald Trump announced he plans to nominate Emil Bove, a top political appointee to the Justice Department, to a federal appeals court seat.

“Emil is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday announcing the intended nomination. “He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

It’s unclear which seat Trump intends to appoint Bove, his former personal lawyer, to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. There’s currently two open seats, in New Jersey and Delaware.

Bove, currently serving as top deputy to Justice Department second-in-command Todd Blanche, will likely face scrutiny from Senate Democrats during the judicial confirmation process about his handling of criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

In February, he ordered prosecutors to drop bribery charges against Adams that he saw as politically motivated, prompting Manhattan’s top prosecutor and Justice Department officials to resign rather than carry out the order.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” by the news of Bove’s nomination but that there was also a “silver lining": “the Committee will now have the chance to question Mr. Bove, under oath, about his alleged professional misconduct and more.”

In a joint statement, New Jersey Democrats Cory Booker and Andy Kim called Bove a “deeply polarizing choice” for the court.

Bove has also made immigration enforcement a key priority during his tenure at the Justice Department, including by calling for criminal investigations into so-called sanctuary jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

He earlier directed the firing of more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on cases against participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.

A spokesperson for Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the committee “will review Mr. Bove’s background and qualifications per the standard process, and looks forward to holding a prompt hearing on his nomination.”

Conservative Response

His nomination has already divided conservatives. Ed Whelan, a conservative lawyer who writes frequently about judicial confirmations, said in an X social media post, “Trump’s assurance” that Bove would do “anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN” presents an “odd and highly politicized understanding of the judicial role.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the nomination, saying “our loss here at DOJ will be the country’s gain” in an X post.

Bove previously worked as a prosecutor handling national security for the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. He later worked at Blanche’s firm, where he represented Trump against federal charges that he mishandled classified documents and tried to obstruct the 2020 presidential election. Bove also represented Trump in his New York state trial on fraud charges related to hush-money payments, where Trump was found guilty.

Trump appointed four members to the Third Circuit in his first term, and his next one will tilt the evenly-divided active bench to a majority of judges appointed by Republican presidents.

Florida Nominations

In separate Truth Social posts, Trump also announced a string of Florida district court nominees with experience as state court judges and lawyers in the state’s Attorney General’s office. Most would serve on the Orlando-based Middle District of Florida, which has four open seats, one of which is a future vacancy.

They include Jordan E. Pratt, a state court judge, who was previously deputy general counsel for the US Small Business Administration, and before that senior counsel in the Office of Legal Policy in the Justice Department. Pratt also served as deputy solicitor general in the state’s Attorney General’s office.

John Guard is chief deputy attorney general in the state and was previously an assistant US attorney in the Middle District.

Trump also plans to elevate Kyle Dudek, a magistrate judge for the district, to a seat on the trial bench.

Other announced district picks who are state court judges include Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe for the Middle District and Ed Artau for the Miami-based Southern District of Florida.