President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he will nominate Justice Department official Emil Bove, one of his former defense attorneys, to be a federal appeals court judge, setting up a high-profile Senate confirmation clash.
Trump had previously named Bove to be principal associate deputy attorney general, a role that does not require Senate confirmation. Bove also served as acting deputy attorney general, where he established himself as a key player in the administration’s push to overhaul the department.
Bove and Todd Blanche, now deputy attorney general, were counsel for Trump in the two federal criminal cases brought by former special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith, one in Washington which accused Trump of crimes connected to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and another in Florida which accused him of illegally keeping classified documents after his first term.
