President Donald Trump’s intent to nominate a White House aide and longtime personal attorney could present the latest stress test for the Senate’s bipartisan “blue slip” tradition on judicial nominees.
His firing of Erik Siebert as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia for declining to indict Trump foe New York Attorney General Letitia James was followed by the appointment of Lindsey Halligan, whose nomination would require the approval of Virginia’s Democratic senators.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) have the ability to block Halligan with their so-called blue slips, de facto seals of approval that empower senators to sink judicial nominees in their home state by refusing to return the slips. It’s a century-old practice valued by both political parties that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has refused to roll back, despite threats and personal insults from Trump after recent nominees were stymied.
In interviews with the Washington Post, Kaine and Warner expressed opposition to Halligan for her lack of experience as a prosecutor or working at DOJ but did not address whether they’d seek to block her nomination. Neither senator responded to requests for comment.
Siebert was nominated but not yet confirmed. He was serving as acting U.S. attorney when he resigned Friday after rebuffing demands by Trump that James be prosecuted for alleged mortgage fraud. Trump subsequently appointed Halligan to the role, which she can serve in for 120 days without confirmation, and said he intends to officially send her nomination to the Senate.
“What we don’t need is a Democrat Endorsed ‘Republican,’” Trump said in Truth Social posts over the weekend, referring to Siebert, who had support from Kaine and Warner. “I will be nominating Lindsey Halligan to be the United States Attorney in this very important part of our Great Country. She will be Fair, Smart, and will provide, desperately needed, JUSTICE FOR ALL!”
In another post, Trump noted Halligan’s personal ties and experience representing him against former charges of mishandling classified documents that arose from the FBI’s raid on Mar-a-Lago.
“Lindsey is a tough, smart, and loyal attorney, who has worked with me for a long time, including in the winning fight against the Weaponization of our Justice System by Crooked Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats, which she witnessed firsthand when she stood up for my rights during the Unconstitutional and UnAmerican raid on my home, Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida,” Trump wrote.
Halligan also has experience as a former insurance lawyer, which the president alluded to.
TRUMP ALLY ASSUMES VIRGINIA PROSECUTOR POST AFTER LETITIA JAMES CASE SCUFFLE
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about when Trump will officially notify the Senate of her nomination and the potential roadblock from the Virginia Democrats.
In rebuffing Trump’s criticism, Grassley has repeatedly defended blue slips as a “fundamental example of our system of checks and balances.”