The Republican-controlled Senate was always going to confirm Emil Bove to the federal bench. That this outcome was all but guaranteed the day President Donald Trump nominated Bove, regardless of what came before his nomination and what would come afterward, highlights a difference in how Republicans and Democrats exercise power.

Retired judge Michael Luttig and I organized a letter opposing President Trump’s nomination of Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit because he is not qualified. About 80 retired judges, both federal and state, signed the letter.