Dem senators throw tantrum, walk out of meeting to protest Trump judicial nominee vote

Democratic senators on Thursday walked out of a meeting to vote on Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer Emil Bove’s nomination to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Democrats exited the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting following Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker alleging that chairman and Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley was hurrying the vote and not enabling every senator to talk, NBC News reported. Booker raised his voice and criticized the handling of the meeting before he and his fellow Democrats left.

WATCH:

“Why are you doing this?” Booker asked. “This is outrageous!”

Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono also chimed in.

“This is a kangaroo court. That’s what we have here, Mr. chairman,” she said.

“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,” Booker added. “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.”

Bove received a 12-0 vote tally as all Republicans voted in favor, NBC News reported. There were no Democratic votes since they walked out.

While Grassley’s office thinks the vote to move Bove’s nomination out of the committee to the full Senate stands, Democrats are challenging it, according to NBC News.

President Donald Trump nominated Bove for the role in a May Truth Social post. Bove was previously Trump’s defense attorney and was serving as acting deputy attorney general in the DOJ.

Corporate and legacy media outlets previously deemed Bove Trump’s “enforcer” after he was tasked with leading the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group.

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