President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to end the “blue slip” tradition in the upper chamber in order to get the rest of his judicial nominations and attorneys confirmed.
Trump trashed the “blue slip,” which is a practice that allows lawmakers from the minority party to veto nominees for U.S. attorney and district court judges from their home state, as an “old and outdated ‘custom’” that has allowed Democrats to block his nominees.
“I have a Constitutional Right to appoint Judges and U.S. Attorneys, but that RIGHT has been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Therefore, the only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats!”
He concluded the short by calling on Grassley to end the practice and tell the Senate Democrats “to go to HELL,” a line he previously used after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) blockade against his nominations just ahead of the August recess.
This is not the first time Trump has targeted Grassley over the “blue slip” practice.
In late July, the president called on Grassley to “step up” and end the “‘Blue Slip’ SCAM,” suggesting the Democrats’ blockade was making him look “weak and ineffective” as chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee.
Grassley addressed those comments a day later, saying he was “surprised” and “offended” by what he called “personal insults” from Trump.
While Grassley has stood by the “blue slip” practice, he is now facing criticism from one of the former nominees.
On Friday, Alina Habba, a fierce Trump loyalist whose nomination to be the U.S. attorney in New Jersey is now mired in a court battle, said Grassley was doing a “disservice” by upholding the practice.
As judiciary chairman, Grassley has the power to change the “blue slip” tradition. He has done so before, specifically in 2017 when he exempted higher-level circuit court nominees from it.