Nomination of Emil J. Bove III

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Now, on Mr. Bove--Emil Bove--last week, Senate Republicans on the Judiciary reported out one of Donald Trump's worst judicial nominees yet, Emil Bove; and that is saying a lot, since there are so many bad ones. Judiciary Republicans were so afraid to talk about Mr. Bove's nomination, in fact, that the Republican chair cut off debate time and refused to let all Democrats speak. And rather than being part of this farce, Judiciary Democrats, led by my friend the ranking member, Senator Durbin, rightly walked out of the hearing.

I commend my Democratic colleagues for standing up for the integrity of our courts and refusing to participate in a compromised committee process with a deeply compromised nominee.

It is obvious why the Republicans were so eager to cut off debate. They know the arguments against Mr. Bove are telling and so unworthy of anyone nominated to a court of appeals or any judicial position in this government.

Mr. Bove is the perfect example of the type of person Donald Trump wants on the bench: political, aggressive, unprofessional, abusive, and ready and willing to put the Trump agenda over the rule of law. We all know what Donald Trump wants from judges: complete obeisance of whatever he wants, regardless of the rule of law, regardless of precedent, regardless of the Constitution.

Mr. Bove has a long history of defending Donald Trump when he was his personal attorney. He defended the President when the President was accused of inciting the January 6 insurrection, mishandling classified documents, falsifying business records, and more.

So what should that do when someone defends a President who is accused of very serious crimes? It should disqualify them from the bench. But the opposite occurs in the Trump administration. His defense of Trump's indefensible actions earned him a top spot at the DOJ, where he used his power to fire prosecutors who were working on criminal cases for the January 6 insurrectionists.

That is right. Mr. Bove helped the rioters who assaulted law enforcement officers on January 6 get off without any charges.

What is happening to this country? What is happening?

And if that is not enough to disqualify him, one whistleblower testified Mr. Bove repeatedly told DOJ lawyers to ignore court orders and even deliberately mislead judges. Mr. Bove encouraged officials not to tell judges the truth, the same sort of judges he is now nominated to serve alongside.

How can someone who has such disregard for our judges and our courts be trusted on the bench? Mr. Bove's nomination previews the dark, ominous plan Donald Trump and Republicans have for the Federal Judiciary. They want to fill our courts with partisan operatives who will protect and serve Donald Trump, not protect the rule of law.

Experience doesn't matter. Judicial independence doesn't matter. Understanding the law and applying it without fear or favor doesn't matter at all. In fact, there is fear of Donald Trump among so many of the Republican nominees for judges and so many of our Republican Senators. For Donald Trump, the only thing that matters, when it comes to judges, is unyielding fealty to himself.

We have never seen--never--such a disastrous mandate for our Federal courts in all of American history, and if the Republicans proceed, the damage to our Judiciary will be irreversible.

Mr. Bove's nomination is an insult to every single qualified, independent judge who has ever sat on the Federal courts. He should never have been nominated. He should never have been reported out of committee, and he should never, ever be confirmed by the Senate to such an important job.

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