The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of Donald Trump's former personal lawyer to be a federal appeals court judge over protests from Democrats, who accuse him of using aggressive tactics to enforce the president's agenda at the DOJ.
Republicans on the panel unanimously supported the nomination of Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment on the 3rd Circuit, sending the nomination to the full Senate. Bove currently serves as a top DOJ official.
The hearing devolved into partisan rancor when the panel's Republican chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, cut off debate on Bove's nomination. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democrat, shouted that Grassley was violating the committee's rules as Republicans cast their votes. The other Democrats walked out of the hearing.
Bove's nomination drew fierce opposition from Democrats and many former DOJ employees, more than 900 of whom signed a letter accusing him of undermining the integrity of the department. Bove's defenders have pointed to his background as a federal terrorism prosecutor in New York and his work countering drug cartels and other threats.
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