On Capitol Hill, the Senate voted 50 to 48 Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove, bringing Donald Trump’s former criminal defense attorney one step closer to a lifetime appointment on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Two Republicans — Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — sided with Democrats to oppose Bove’s nomination. Bove has been called an “extreme ideologue” and has reportedly directed Justice Department lawyers to ignore judicial orders that undermine Trump’s agenda.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday the independence of federal courts is under attack due to increasing threats of violence against judges and the refusal of Trump administration officials to follow court rulings. Justice Kagan spoke at a judicial conference in California.

Justice Elena Kagan: “This idea that litigants, and most especially I’m here — here I’m talking about government officials, needn’t obey the dictates of courts, needn’t obey court orders, and — and, you know, that’s just not the way our system works, not the way rule of law in this country works. And that’s true for the Supreme Court, and it’s also true for every district court.”