The US Senate has voted to confirm President Donald Trump’s former defence lawyer Emil Bove to a lifetime appointment as a judge on a federal appeals court.
Democrats all opposed the move, with two Republicans joining them to vote against Bove by a vote of 50-49 on Tuesday evening.
Bove is considered Trump’s most contentious judicial pick to date, having defended him in three of the four criminal trials he faced after finishing his first term in office in 2020.
During his confirmation hearings, Bove, 44, denied he was Trump’s “henchman”. He has also denied whistleblowers’ claims that he had told staff to flout the law and misled senators.
Bove will serve on the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, which oversees cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“He has a strong legal background and has served his country honourably. I believe he will be diligent, capable and a fair jurist,” the Republican chairman of the judiciary committee, Chuck Grassley, said ahead of the vote.
Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, were the two Republican senators who sided with Democrats to oppose Bove’s confirmation.
Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee, said in a statement: “Mr Bove’s primary qualification appears to be his blind loyalty to this president.”
Since Trump returned to office in January, Bove has been serving as principal associate deputy attorney general at the US Department of Justice.
Democrats accuse Bove of overseeing mass firings of prosecutors who were seen as being insufficiently loyal to Trump.
Two whistleblowers had accused Bove of telling subordinates that court orders thwarting Trump’s deportation efforts might have to be ignored.
A third whistleblower alleged Bove had misled senators when discussing his role in the dismissal of corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Democrats say the charges were dropped after Adams agreed to co-operate on Trump’s immigration enforcement goals in the city. Bove denied any wrongdoing.
More than 900 former justice department employees signed an open letter, calling for Bove’s name to be withdrawn.
A group of more than 75 retired state and federal judges also wrote to the committee.
They said it was “deeply inappropriate” for a president to nominate his own criminal defence attorney for a federal judgeship.
Trump has selected several lawyers who were part of his legal defence team to serve in government roles.
In addition to Bove, Alina Habba was chosen to be New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, and Todd Blanche is now serving as the deputy attorney general.
