The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced, 12-0, the nomination of Emil Bove for an appeals court post Thursday after Democrats walked out of the vote for a controversial figure in the administration’s aggressive shake up of the Justice Department.
Republicans brushed past outrage from Democrats over accusations that Bove participated in Trump’s reshaping of the Justice Department and in an effort intended to undermine court rulings against the administration over deportation efforts. The committee also advanced several nominees to the federal bench and U.S. attorney posts, in which Democrats also did not vote.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, defended Bove and criticized the “unfair rhetoric and treatment” from Democrats on the panel. Grassley criticized a whistleblower report over Bove’s actions, said that it did not follow the proper procedure for the issue, or justify an additional hearing on Bove’s nomination.
