Following is a statement from Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, regarding the lifetime appointment of Emil Bove to serve as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

“The Senate’s vote to confirm Emil Bove to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals is a grave offense against the rule of law. This is a lifetime appointment, and the Senate has an extraordinary responsibility to evaluate nominees on their judgment, integrity, and adherence to constitutional norms. Bove’s record is one of personal loyalty to Donald Trump at the expense of the Constitution and the law.

“Confirming Bove sends the message that courts are no longer democratic institutions for ascertaining law and facts, but staging grounds for partisan agendas.

“The Senate had the chance to draw a line. Instead, it crossed it. The damage that comes from stacking our courts and institutions with partisan loyalists beholden to a would-be authoritarian is profound.”