Dem
47
GOP
53
In Trump v1.0, Donald Trump rubber-stamped Supreme Court justices selected by the Federalist Society. They were picks the conservative movement wanted. All of them were very conservative, but also had impressive résumés. Neil Gorsuch, a graduate of Harvard Law School, was an appellate judge for 12 years, among other things. Brett Kavanaugh went to Yale Law School and was also an appellate judge for 12 years. Amy Coney Barrett went to Notre Dame Law School and clerked for conservative hero Antonin Scalia. She was later a professor of constitutional law at Notre Dame and then put in 3 years as an appellate judge. All three of Trump's picks (actually, Leonard Leo's picks) were heavyweight intellectuals.
Although Trump has gotten most of what he wanted from the Supreme Court, this time he is doing it differently. He doesn't want judges or DoJ employees who are loyal to the conservative movement. He doesn't care much about their qualifications, he wants to appoint people who are loyal to him personally. AG Pam Bondi was his lawyer during his first impeachment. Deputy AG Todd Blanche represented him at his criminal trial for cooking the books in New York. His pick for solicitor general, D. John Sauer, was his lead lawyer before the Supreme Court when he challenged his prosecution in Trump v. United States.
Both chambers of Congress are completely loyal to him, even though most Republicans in the House and Senate know very well that much of what he wants is bad for the country and often especially bad for Republican voters. The one branch of government where he is having problems is the judiciary, and he is now working on that. In particular, he has nominated Emil Bove III (44) to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). Bove got his J.D. from Georgetown University. He clerked for both a district court judge and an appeals court judge, then worked in private practice at Sullivan & Cromwell. He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the SDNY for 9 years but was denied a promotion there when a group of attorneys called him "a prosecutor version of a drunken driver." He went back to private practice and worked for Todd Blanche's law firm, where he helped defend Trump in several cases. In Trump v2.0, Bove is principal associate deputy AG. His defining characteristic is total loyalty to Trump above all else. He has demonstrated that over and over this year. For example, he was a key player in the scheme to blackmail Eric Adams into cooperating with Trump on the matter of rounding up immigrants for deportation.
What worries some people is that Trump seems likely to nominate Bove to the Supreme Court should either Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Samuel Alito retire soon. The combination of being only 44 and being totally loyal to Trump probably outweighs his lack of legal gravitas. If the Senate confirms his appointment to the Third Circuit and the next Supreme Court vacancy comes in June 2026, Bove will have a year as an appeals judge. That might be just enough to get 50 senators to vote to confirm him, even though most of them know it would be a disastrous choice.
Bove's confirmation hearing for the Third Circuit was held on June 25. It was very contentious. Eight former federal prosecutors from D.C. urged the Judiciary Committee to reject Bove, saying he is "the worst conceivable nominee." Just yesterday, 75 state and federal judges wrote a letter saying "Mr. Bove's egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position." The Society for the Rule of Law Institute and other groups also opposed his nomination, while 20 Republican attorneys general have supported him. The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to take a vote on his confirmation. (V)