Trump Submits Bove Nomination for Third Circuit New Jersey Seat

President Donald Trump intends to appoint his former personal attorney Emil Bove to the New Jersey vacancy on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Trump hadn’t indicated which of the two Third Circuit vacancies Bove would be nominated for at the time of his announcement, but the Justice Department official is now listed as the pending nominee for the seat vacated by Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr. on the US Courts website for judicial vacancies.

Trump submitted his nomination — which describes him as “Emil J. Bove III, of Pennsylvania” — to the Senate on Monday.

If Bove is confirmed, it would leave one remaining Third Circuit vacancy in Delaware. The White House is actively looking to fill that seat, a person familiar with the administration’s process told Bloomberg Law June 4. Republicans have urged Trump consider relocating the judgeship to another state in the circuit, such as Pennsylvania, citing a smaller pool of conservative talent in Delaware.

Trump has so far made two nominations to the circuit courts, including Whitney Hermandorfer for the Sixth Circuit. While Hermandorfer’s nomination has been praised by conservatives of all stripes, Bove’s consideration has proven more divisive.

New Jersey Democratic Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker called Bove a “deeply polarizing choice” in a joint statement.

President Joe Biden’s choice for the New Jersey Third Circuit seat, Adeel Mangi, who would have been the first Muslim federal appellate judge, generated unease among some Democrats amid conservative-led allegations that he’d affiliated himself with antisemitic and anti-police groups.

Mangi decried the “farcical attacks” he said were “intended to make it intolerable for Muslims proud of their identity to serve this nation. It will fail.”