Top Justice Department officials under President Donald Trump are rallying to the defense of Emil Bove, a senior DOJ political appointee and former attorney on the president’s criminal defense team, after Bove’s name was reportedly floated for nomination to a lifetime role on a federal appeals court.
Bove, who worked alongside Todd Blanche in defending Trump during two federal indictments and a pair of state-level criminal cases in the run-up to the 2024 election, is reportedly being vetted to sit in one of two vacant spots on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, according to multiple media reports. The former prosecutor was tapped by Trump earlier this year to lead the president’s takeover of the DOJ ahead of Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s confirmation in April.
The reports of his possible nomination were met with alarm by some conservative legal commentators, including Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and National Review columnist, who has frequently criticized Trump since the start of his second term. Meanwhile, Whelan’s negative reaction prompted online backlash from two prominent DOJ officials.
“Will Trump Nominate DOJ Henchman Emil Bove to Appellate Seat?” Whelan posted on X Monday, calling the prospect “very bad news” for conservatives hoping Trump would replicate the caliber of his first-term judicial picks.
Whelan went so far as to suggest Bove’s nomination would test whether Senate Republicans are willing to rubber-stamp “thuggish fealty to Trump.”
Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent conservative lawyer who has worked with Bove, fired back on X, saying, “This is one of the dumbest and nastiest headlines and squibs ever from a once-great conservative publication.”
Dhillon, now a senior DOJ official, called Bove “an extremely effective and intelligent attorney,” adding, “We should be so lucky to have judges like him.”
Blanche, now deputy attorney general, joined the pushback, saying it was “[s]ad to see what’s become of a once-respected outlet.”
“Emil Bove is a brilliant legal mind and a dedicated public servant and I’m proud to call him a colleague and close friend,” Blanche said, without denying rumors of Bove’s potential selection.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a former Trump White House counsel, struck a more measured tone but also voiced support for Bove, saying, “Emil is one of the most courageous lawyers in America. He would be a phenomenal judge.”
Whelan later moderated his stance in a follow-up post, acknowledging Ferguson’s credibility.
“I respect Andrew Ferguson, and I’m glad to hear his take. I would be very glad to be wrong on this,” he wrote. Whelan has long championed Trump’s judicial selections from his first term, which were made in part with the aid of then-Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard Leo.
Bove played a leading role in restructuring the DOJ this year, including with a purge of career prosecutors and others who worked under the Biden administration.
TOP DOJ PROSECUTOR RESIGNS AFTER REFUSING TO INVESTIGATE EPA CLIMATE SPENDING
His tenure also drew attention for overseeing the abrupt end of a corruption investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams — an episode that led to a pair of high-profile resignations and accusations of political favoritism.
Earlier this month, Trump began his second-term efforts to nominate new life-tenure appointees to federal appeals courts with the naming of a ranking lawyer in the Tennessee attorney general’s office, three district court nominees, and one selection for the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.
