Summary
- Trump
calls Senate tradition “old and outdated.” - Tradition
lets home state senators approve judicial nominees. - The
Senate’s “blue slip” allows senators to block nominees. - Republicans
defend blue slip for political and strategic reasons.
For weeks, Trump has been criticizing the so-called
“blue slip” process, and he has pressured Chuck Grassley, a
Republican from Iowa who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to stop using
it. The seasoned senator hasn’t changed his mind, though.
Trump threatened to file a lawsuit on Monday, claiming that
he could only have “weak” justices confirmed in states with at least
one Democratic senator.
“This is based on an old custom. It’s not based on a law.
And I think it’s unconstitutional,”
Trump told reporters.
“And I’ll probably be
filing a suit on that pretty soon.”
Since the Senate sets its own rules, it’s unclear who Trump
would sue and how the case would go. Additionally, Senate Republicans have
remained unapologetic, claiming that during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency,
they took advantage of the process. They claim that if they are in the minority
once more, they will want the practice to continue.
Republicans also note that judges who don’t receive
approval from their home state senators are unlikely to have enough votes for
confirmation, anyway.
“In Biden admin Republicans kept 30 LIBERALS OFF BENCH THAT
PRES TRUMP CAN NOW FILL W CONSERVATIVES,”
Grassley posted on X shortly after
Trump’s remarks on Monday.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican member of the
judiciary committee, posted on X that getting rid of the blue slip “is a
terrible, short-sighted ploy that paves the path for Democrats to ram through
extremist liberal judges in red states over the long-term.”
Blue slips have also been defended by Senate Majority Leader
John Thune, R-S.D., who has previously utilized the procedure himself and
collaborated with the Biden administration during a South Dakota court vacancy.
“I don’t sense any rush to change it,”
Thune said.
When the president appoints someone to a federal job that is
located in one state, such as a district judge or U.S. attorney, a blue slip, a
blue-colored form, is sent to the senators of the two home states.
The senators from each home state have the option to return
the slips with a good or negative answer. The chairman of the judiciary panel
may decide not to proceed if the form is not returned or if there is a negative
answer.
Alina Habba, a candidate for U.S. attorney in New Jersey,
and two prosecutors nominated in New York who were denied by Senate Democratic
Leader Chuck Schumer are among the Trump nominees that Democrats have opposed
this year.
The Congressional Research Service claims that the blue slip
tradition dates back to at least 1918. However, it has changed over time to
become more partisan, like many Senate customs. Blue slips were also given to
nominees to the circuit court, which has jurisdiction over several states,
until 2017, at the start of Trump’s first term. However, that custom was
abandoned by the Republican-dominated judicial panel, which was then also led
by Grassley.
Republicans have agreed with Trump that the nomination
process should proceed more quickly, despite his defiance of his blue slips.
This is especially true given that Democrats have slowed votes on all of
Trump’s choices.
Threatening to keep them in session the entire month of
August, Trump and Republicans put pressure on Senate Democrats to release some
of their holds on candidates before the customary August recess. However, the
attempt failed, and the Senate departed town regardless, with Trump saying on
social media that Schumer should “GO TO HELL!”
Following that impasse, Thune stated that the chamber will
examine changes to Senate rules in the fall that would make it more difficult
for Democrats to obstruct or delay confirmation votes.
“I think that the last six months have demonstrated that
this process, nominations, is broken,”
Thune said.
“And so I expect there will
be some good robust conversations about that.”
How do Republican senators defend senatorial courtesy now?
They argue that home-state senators have the best
understanding of local needs, politics, and the qualifications of nominees from
their states, making their input vital for sound appointments. Senators view
senatorial courtesy as a long-established informal norm that fosters
cooperation and respect among senators, contributing to the Senate’s
collegiality and stability.
The tradition serves as an important check and balance on
the president’s appointment power, ensuring nominations receive thorough
vetting and local accountability.
Senators expect reciprocal respect for their own exercise of
senatorial courtesy in their states, facilitating cooperation and support
across states in future nomination decisions.
