The FFRF Action Fund is renewing its call for the U.S. Senate to reject judicial nominee Emil Bove after newly released documents reveal that he consulted a far-right Christian legal group with a case pending before the court to which he’s been nominated.
Bove, nominated by President Trump to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, admitted in written responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he discussed his judicial philosophy and confirmation hearing preparation with Kellie Fiedorek, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nationalist legal organization with a deeply troubling record. ADF, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has brought or argued a number of cases that have ended in disastrous rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court undoing precedents that uphold the separation of state and church.
“This is a flashing red light,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, president of the FFRF Action Fund. “Emil Bove was already a deeply concerning nominee, but his behind-the-scenes coordination with Alliance Defending Freedom, a group at the forefront of dismantling civil rights and state/church separation, shows just how embedded he is in the Christian nationalist legal movement. The Senate has a duty to reject this nomination to protect the integrity of our courts.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is actively involved in Heaps v. Delaware Valley Regional High School Board of Education, a case now pending before the 3rd Circuit that involves parental rights and school gender policies. If confirmed, Bove could be in a position to rule on this very case despite conferring with ADF on his nomination.
“Bove’s coordination with ADF raises serious ethical questions,” adds Gaylor. “We cannot allow our federal courts to be stacked by judges groomed by Christian nationalist groups with a theocratic agenda.”
FFRF Action Fund recently issued an action alert urging constituents to contact their senators and oppose Bove’s nomination. In light of these revelations, that call to action is more urgent than ever.
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.