A stormy session of the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday saw Democrats walk out in protest as the panel voted along party lines to advance former Trump lawyer Emil Bove’s nomination to the powerful federal Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Bove, 44, who once served as Donald Trump's personal attorney and now holds a senior position in the Justice Department, has been tapped by the former president for a lifetime post covering Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

His nomination has sparked intense backlash over his close ties to Trump and his controversial record while in office.

“Mr. Bove has led the effort to weaponize the Department of Justice against the president's enemies,” said Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee. “Having earned his stripes as a loyalist to this president, he's been rewarded with this lifetime nomination.”

Despite the Democrats' opposition and a last-minute attempt to delay the vote to allow testimony from a Justice Department whistleblower, Republican members pushed forward. The committee’s Republican chair rejected the request, prompting Democratic senators to walk out in protest.

The committee then voted unanimously among the remaining members to send the nomination to the full Senate.

The protest came amid a flood of objections from across the legal community. More than 900 former Justice Department attorneys sent a letter condemning the nomination, saying, “It is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land.”

A separate letter from over 75 retired state and federal judges expressed alarm that a sitting president would nominate their own former criminal defense lawyer to the bench.

“Especially,” they wrote, “when that president has said he is nominating judges based on whether they will be more loyal to him than to the country.”

Bove’s track record includes representing Trump in the New York hush money case, which led to Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts. He also defended Trump in two federal criminal cases that were dropped after Trump reclaimed the presidency in 2024.

Earlier this year, Bove was also at the center of another controversy after ordering the dismissal of bribery and fraud charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.

The decision triggered resignations at both the Manhattan US attorney’s office and the Justice Department. Bove denied suggestions that the move was political or that it was in exchange for Adams’ backing of Trump's immigration policies.

Adding to the growing concerns, a whistleblower recently accused Bove of telling Justice Department staff he would be willing to ignore court orders to push forward Trump's mass deportation agenda. Bove has denied making the statement.

Republicans, who currently hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, are expected to bring the nomination to the floor for a vote in the coming weeks.