U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been a loud critic of President Donald Trump‘s nomination of Emil Bove, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.
[NOTE: Whitehouse is not alone in his rejection of Bove’s nomination. As Society for the Rule of Law reports, “more than 80 former federal and state judges — including Board Member J. Michael Luttig — have signed a letter opposing the nomination of Emil Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Richard Durbin (D-IL) were the recipients.]
On Tuesday, Whitehouse reported on social media: “Republicans are moving today to Emil Bove’s nomination, rushing to get Trump’s thug cleared through the Senate while two Trump judges hold up the court contempt hearing that would bring out the facts hidden from us in Judiciary.”
The race is on.
Republicans are moving today to Emil Bove’s nomination, rushing to get Trump’s thug cleared through the Senate while two Trump judges hold up the court contempt hearing that would bring out the facts hidden from us in Judiciary.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) July 22, 2025
Note: Bove currently works for another of Trump’s former personal attorneys, Todd Blanche, who is Deputy Attorney General in the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bove and Blanche represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan in 2023. Blanche is in the news this week after DOJ floated a potential meeting between him and convicted Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell (see below).
Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know? At @AGPamBondi’s direction, I’ve contacted her counsel. I intend to meet with her soon. No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits. https://t.co/3IZh9viI7i
— Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) July 22, 2025
When the President nominated Bove, he wrote on social media that Bove would “do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”
Hijinks in the Senate. Potentially coordinated efforts in the courts. The Bove nomination circus stinks to high heaven. pic.twitter.com/UVIUMSuPza
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) July 22, 2025
Whitehouse added: “There are two rings in this circus. Most of the focus has been on Ring One: the badly abused Senate confirmation process, and our walkout as the majority broke committee rules to get Trump’s thug cleared through committee without answering questions. Not only did the majority let Bove dodge answering questions in Ring One, they gave pre-clearance with hand-waving about executive privileges Congress had never conceded apply against Congress’s powers of inquiry — greenlight to stonewall.”
Not only did the majority let Bove dodge answering questions in Ring One, they gave pre-clearance with hand-waving about executive privileges Congress had never conceded apply against Congress’s powers of inquiry — greenlight to stonewall.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) July 22, 2025
Describing the committee hearing, Whitehouse said: “Then they broke the committee rules to ram the Trump thug through. When there’s an objection to a vote, the rules require a committee vote on moving to the vote. The chair just called the Bove vote, and the roll was called, even over a senator still speaking.” He added: “That was the nasty business being performed in Ring One.”
This afternoon, Whitehouse reported: “Two Trump judges stalled a contempt investigation implicating Emil Bove. This timing is suspicious.”
Two Trump judges stalled a contempt investigation implicating Emil Bove. This timing is suspicious. pic.twitter.com/bAFgfvOrKK
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) July 22, 2025