Drew Dixon
President Donald Trump is nominating a former defense lawyer to serve as a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
Emil Bove is now in the running for the judgeship. He’s currently an official in the U.S. Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi. But he also defended Trump as his personal lawyer in several legal cases.
Trump gushed over Bove’s qualifications on his social media platform Truth Social. The President described the 44-year-old Bove as “SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone.”
“He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” according to Trump.
Trump floated Bove as a possible nominee for the appellate post more than a week ago. The Appeals Circuit judgeship covers areas of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Bondi hailed the Bove nomination on X as a great choice.
“Congratulations to my friend Emil Bove on his exciting nomination! Emil has been an indispensable partner at the Department of Justice and has worked tirelessly from day one as we make America safe again. It is hard to imagine going to work without Emil, but our loss here at DOJ will be the country’s gain!” Bondi said Wednesday afternoon.
Trump went further in his social media post pointing out Bove has extensive legal experience.
“Emil is a distinguished graduate of Georgetown Law and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York for nearly a decade where he was the Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit,” Trump posted.
There are currently a pair of vacancies in that circuit.
The Senate must still sign off on the nomination.
The nomination is already drawing fire from key legal observers such as Ed Whelan, a former Justice Department official during the administration of George W. Bush. Whelan characterized Bove’s nomination as “an odd and highly politicized” move on his X account.
One comment
PeterH
May 28, 2025 at 8:02 pm
Trump used an “emergency economic declaration” to impose his blanket 10% tariffs on every country! A trade court has just issued that Trump’s maneuver is illegal and has blocked Trump from implementing tariffs in this manner. More to come!