A Senate committee voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove III, the Justice Department enforcer who oversaw dozens of firings and the dismissal of bribery charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York, to a lifetime post as a federal judge.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the nomination after Democrats stormed out in protest when the panel’s chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley, called the roll before every Democrat on the committee had a chance to air their objections.
“Sir, this lacks decency,” said Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, his voice raised and visibly agitated. “It lacks decorum. It shows that you do not want to simply hear from your colleagues. This is absolutely wrong!”
Mr. Grassley ignored him and plowed on. In a voice vote, committee Republicans voted to confirm Mr. Bove, 44, to a lifetime appointment on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The vote was a prelude for what is expected to be an even more intense battle on the Senate floor over a nominee seen by his many critics of the embodiment of the administration’s obliteration of institutional safeguards intended to shield the department from White House interference.
Mr. Bove is more likely than not to be confirmed, barring any new developments that will sway several Republican senators to reject a lifetime judicial appointment for a taciturn and unyielding former Manhattan federal prosecutor who swiftly rose to prominence after serving on Mr. Trump’s criminal defense team.
