A Republican senator has decided not to vote for one of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees, which could sink the nomination altogether, MSNBC reported.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in a statement to MSNBC that she will vote "no" on Emil Bove's nomination to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The statement was issued at a time when the Trump administration is seeking any political wins it can muster following the backlash it received for its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"Mr. Bove's political profile and some of the actions he has taken in his leadership roles at the Department of Justice caused me to conclude he would not serve as an impartial jurist," Collins told the outlet.
Collins' comments underscore the rift growing in the GOP caucus over some of Trump's nominees.
Bove is one of the more controversial nominees that Trump is trying to advance. He was one of Trump's criminal defense attorneys in his New York state case alongside Alina Habba.
Last month, a whistleblower provided the Senate with documents attesting to Bove's character. In one of the documents, the whistleblower described Bove giving directions to DOJ lawyers that they should disobey court orders to help Trump politically.
If confirmed, Bove would be given a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.
