President Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a direct challenge to the stale, risk-averse mindset that has dominated Republican judicial nominations for decades. This wasn’t just a smart move. It was a bold, calculated strike at the heart of the conservative legal establishment. And the panic it has triggered in people like Ed Whelan proves just how perfect the pick really is.
Let’s be honest: Whelan and his fellow gatekeepers aren’t concerned about qualifications. If Emil Bove’s resume belonged to a Federalist Society darling, Whelan would be singing his praises. He’s got a JD from Georgetown and clerkships on both for judges in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit. He served nearly a decade as a top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, and most recently served as acting deputy attorney general, the #2 at the DOJ. On paper, he checks every box. But that’s exactly what terrifies them: Bove has the credentials and the courage. That’s what they can’t control, and what they fear the most.
Bove has spent his career in the fight. As co-chief of the National Security & International Narcotics Unit in SDNY, he put away terrorists and traffickers. As Acting Deputy Attorney General, he had the guts to shut down a politically motivated prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams after Biden’s DOJ decided to retaliate against him for speaking out on the border crisis. Bove saw the case for what it was — pure political lawfare — and he helped put an end to it. That’s called leadership. That’s called understanding executive power. And that’s exactly why President Trump nominated him.
Ed Whelan’s whining op-ed in National Review is a textbook case of conservative cowardice. He calls Bove a “henchman,” complains that some disgruntled DOJ bureaucrats quit in protest, and even floats the ridiculous idea that Bove only wants to be a judge to dodge ethics complaints. But if Bove wanted a quiet life insulated from progressive lawfare, he wouldn’t have picked up the baton to represent President Trump. Bove didn’t flinch. He didn’t cave. He kept fighting, and by the way, winning.
That’s the difference between Bove and the type of judges the establishment prefers: judges who make nice with the left, get invited to the right conferences, and write elegant dissents while the country burns. President Trump sees the game for what it is, and he’s nominating people who will actually do something about it.
Emil Bove understands that the fight for our country is existential. The Constitution means nothing if those entrusted to uphold it are too afraid to act. That’s why President Trump chose Bove. He’s battle-tested and ready to take on the forces trying to dismantle this country from the bench.
Whelan and his establishment compatriots aren’t upset because Bove is unqualified. They’re upset because he’s uncontrollable. Because he won’t bow to their little club. Because he’s loyal to the Constitution, not to some establishment checklist. And because he reminds them that they’ve spent years losing politely while people like Bove actually fight.
President Trump made over 230 judicial appointments in his first term, including three to the Supreme Court. That record speaks for itself. But this second term is about going even bolder. It’s about fixing the courts, not just staffing them. Emil Bove is the future of the judiciary — a judge who won’t be intimidated by media hit jobs, left-wing lawfare, or sanctimonious lectures from the right.
President Trump nailed it with this pick. He didn’t choose a caretaker. He chose a warrior. That’s exactly what the moment demands. The message is clear: if you fear judges like Emil Bove, you fear the Constitution being enforced. And if that’s the case, you have no business shaping the future of the GOP.
Will Chamberlain is Senior Counsel at the Article III Project.
