Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) (Photo: Screen grab from Senate.gov)
Set to cast the key vote on one of Donald Trump’s most controversial judicial nominees on Thursday, Senator Thom Tillis is leaning toward a “yes.”
The Republican from North Carolina is likely to be the deciding factor as to whether Emil Bove, a former lawyer for Trump and high-ranking Justice Department official, makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee in his bid to receive a lifetime appointment to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Emil Bove testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on June 25. (Photo: Senate.gov video feed)Tillis told reporters on July 9 that he is likely to “go with the staff recommendation” and vote in favor of Bove’s nomination, according to Politico, which under a party-line vote would mean Bove’s nomination proceeds to the full Senate for a vote. Because Republicans only hold a 12-10 majority on the Judiciary Committee, any defection is enough to sink a nominee.
Earlier this year, Tillis used this leverage to sink the nomination of Ed Martin as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, citing his legal defense of January 6 rioters as the key obstacle to his support. “We have to be very, very clear that what happened on January 6 was wrong,” Tillis told the Associated Press.
Bove is nominated to a seat on the Third Circuit that opened in June 2023, which former President Joe Biden unsuccessfully attempted to fill with Adeel Mangi, a Muslim-American lawyer whose confirmation was stalled over what Mangi called “performative McCarthyism” surrounding his ties to Muslim organizations in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. His nomination was dropped as part of a deal between Senate Democrats and Republicans last year to advance a slate of stalled district court judges.
Bove has come under fire for his actions as Trump’s lieutenant at the Justice Department, including carrying out a purge of prosecutors involved in cases against Jan. 6 rioters from the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office. He also garnered controversy for dropping corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a decision that led to resignations from the department and which required Bove to appear in court to assure a judge there was “no quid pro quo” in exchange for the dismissal.
“It’s a striking contrast because Adeel Mangi was extremely well-qualified, and basically the Republicans crucified him, and I don’t use that term lightly,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. “It’s deeply ironic to put somebody like that forward, somebody like Bove, for that seat after they robbed the Democrats of that position.”
In the wake of Tillis’s announcement that he would not seek reelection to his Senate seat next year, some observers noted that he may have greater latitude to defy Trump on key issues — likely giving him greater freedom to break with his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee on divisive judicial nominees.
“He could still change his mind, he may keep an open mind during the discussion, and I imagine the Democrats will say scathing things about Bove,” Tobias said. “My prediction, for what it’s worth, is that it’s likely to be a party-line vote, 12-10.”
A Justice Department whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, has also come forward alleging that Bove directed his subordinates to defy court orders and engage in illegal conduct in the course of Trump’s mass deportation efforts. Bove and other Trump administration officials denied these allegations. Though the whistleblower offered to testify before the Judiciary Committee, Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) declined to extend him an invitation or hold a second hearing on the nomination.
On Tuesday, more than 80 former federal and state judges, including two former Third Circuit judges, sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee warning that Bove’s confirmation would “compromise the integrity of the courts” and “set a dangerous precedent that judicial power may be wielded in service of personal fealty rather than constitutional duty.”
“Mr. Bove’s egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position,” the judges wrote. “Proceeding with this nomination, particularly in the face of credible and sworn allegations from a nonpartisan DOJ attorney that Mr. Bove violated court orders and instructed public servants to act unlawfully, would be a disservice to the constitution, to law enforcement, and to the rule of law.”
Similarly, more than 900 former Department of Justice officials wrote to the committee Wednesday expressing “grave concern over the senseless attacks on the dedicated career employees who are the backbone of the Department,” a charge they said has been led by Bove.
“It is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land, as it should be intolerable to anyone committed to maintaining our ordered system of justice,” the officials wrote.
The Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on whether to advance Bove’s nomination at its meeting Thursday beginning at 9:15 a.m.
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