[3][4] In 1990, he unsuccessfully ran for North Carolina's 5th congressional district as a Republican.

In 2003, he received the Department of Justice's John Marshall Award for prosecuting the first conviction of material support to a terrorist organization, which was by a Hezbollah cell.

He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Richard Lesley Voorhees, who assumed senior status on August 31, 2017.

[7] On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Bell for a federal judgeship.