Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Following The Senate Confirmation Of Trump Loyalist Emil Bove To Serve As A Judge On The 3rd Circuit Court
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to condemn Senate Republicans’ confirmation of Emil Bove as a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court, citing his alarming history of sympathizing with January 6th rioters, misleading judges, and, likely, lying to Senators during his confirmation. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:
I want to be very clear about what Senate Republicans are doing.
Tonight, Senate Republicans vote to put Emil Bove, January 6th sympathizer, on one of the highest courts in the country.
They reward a man, credibly accused of wanting to lie to judges, with a black robe and gavel of his own.
And they're confirming him for one reason only: Mr. Bove is loyal to Donald Trump, therefore Donald Trump wants him on the bench. The calculus is as simple as that.
It is unfathomable that just over four years after the insurrection at the Capitol – when rioters smashed windows, ransacked offices, desecrated this chamber – Senate Republicans are willingly putting someone on the bench who shielded these rioters from facing justice, who said their prosecution was a grave national injustice.
To my colleagues who were here on January 6th and who are now putting him on the bench: shame on you.
To confirm Mr. Bove is a sacrilegious act against our democracy, and a deep violation against the spirit of our oaths of office.
But this is not just about January 6. Mr. Bove has been accused – by multiple whistleblowers – of telling DOJ lawyers to intentionally mislead judges about the administration’s policies.
Mr. Bove denied these claims, but we have text messages, emails, and other documents saying otherwise.
And recently another whistleblower has come forward sharing evidence with Senators suggesting Mr. Bove misled the Judiciary Committee during his sworn testimony. Since it seems very likely Mr. Bove lied to Senators, he should never have become a federal judge.
But Republicans are rushing Mr. Bove through tonight, hoping the American people aren’t paying attention. That includes the Judiciary Chairman, someone who prides himself on standing up for whistleblowers, but who rushed this process through in committee without fully vetting this nominee and without getting to the bottom of the facts underpinning these grave accusations.
Honestly, how have Republicans allowed the bar to fall so low — so dismally low — that they confirm someone accused of lying to judges to the bench, without turning over every stone and examining every lead before making this decision?
How have our Republican colleagues forgotten the horrors of January 6th so soon, that they let Mr. Bove, one of the great defenders of the insurrectionists, to sail through this chamber?
This is a dark, dark, day, a dark vote, and a dangerous nominee Republicans are confirming.
###