New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker called out Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley for his lack of "decency" for ramming through a vote for President Donald Trump's nominee Emil Bove to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
The panel advanced Bove’s nomination Thursday morning with only Republican support, as all Democrats abstained from voting. Aside from Booker, every Democrat left the hearing room ahead of votes on Bove and other pending nominees.
Grassley defended the move, citing precedent: in November 2023, he said, Democrats advanced two of former President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees despite GOP requests to continue debate.
Bove, a former criminal defense attorney for President Donald Trump and now principal associate deputy attorney general, has faced criticism after a whistleblower alleged he encouraged defying court orders related to the administration’s deportation policy.
Earlier in the week, Democrats had requested that the whistleblower testify before a vote on Bove's nomination. Grassley denied the request, saying his office had reviewed the complaint and found the claims unconvincing, concluding there was no need to delay.
Booker said, in part:
“Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdiction and past precedent. Why are you doing this? This is outrageous.”
“This is wrong. To violate your own rules, without going by the mandates of the parliamentarian. This is unbelievable. There’s a way to do this. If you want to force this through, if you want to ram this through, there’s a way to do it in accordance to the rules as spelled out by the parliamentarian."
"It is simple, it is clear. There’s a pathway to achieve what you’re trying to achieve, but sir, this lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows you do not want to simply hear from your colleagues. This is absolutely wrong and sir, this is to me one of those moments where we are not showing common respect for each other on both sides."
"I have sat here when we were in the majority and listened to my colleagues' arguments, listened to their passionate statements, and then we voted. This is not that. This is us simply trying to rush through one of the most controversial nominees that we've had under this administration."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Booker added that Grassley is "a good man, a decent man," but went further:
"Why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you for making you do something that is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and respect we have for each other to at least hear each other out? I've sat through so many long speeches of my colleagues, heard their objections, listened with sincerity to try and hear what their arguments are."
"We are not doing that. Sir, this is wrong and you know it. ... Some of the people who work the hardest to find real bipartisan ground have walked out of this committee and you don't even seem to care but I know you do. I know your heart, Senator Grassley. This is wrong. I know the kind of person you are and you know this is wrong."
"What is another hour to allow senators to be heard? It's what the Constitution mandates. It's the ideals of the United States Senate. The world's most deliberative body should take a decent amount of time to deliberate but here we're not doing that. We are jamming this through with some sense of false urgency."
Many joined Booker in speaking out against the proceedings.
Democrats also criticized Bove’s nomination by highlighting his role in the Justice Department’s dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The move came around the same time Adams agreed to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement at Rikers Island, raising concerns about a possible quid pro quo. The episode prompted resignations from DOJ lawyers, who reportedly objected to the decision.
Grassley insisted that Bove "has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably," saying that the "vicious partisan attacks and obstruction of nominees that we've seen from Democrats this Congress has to stop."
It is not clear if Bove's nomination will be confirmed by the full Senate; the nomination would fail if Bove loses the support of four Republicans.
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