Grassley rips Trump demands to force judicial nominees through Senate: ‘I was offended’

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tore into President Trump Wednesday after the commander in chief called on Grassley to scrap a tradition that Democrats have been exploiting to scuttle Trump’s judicial nominations.

“Last night, I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the ‘blue slip,’” Grassley, 91, said during a committee hearing.

“I was offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”

The “blue slip” tradition dates back more than 100 years and involves the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman consulting the senators from a state where a US attorney, circuit or district court nomination is pending.

If both senators from that state give a negative assessment of the nominee — marked on a blue slip of paper — the president’s pick doesn’t get considered by the Judiciary panel.

Most recently, New Jersey Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim used the blue-slip power to block consideration of Alina Habba’s nomination to serve as US Attorney for the Garden State.

The president responded by withdrawing Habba’s nomination, clearing the way for her to serve in an acting capacity.

“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the US Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys,” Trump lashed out on Truth Social Tuesday evening. 

“Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice because of an ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM.’”

So far in Trump’s second term, Republicans have only confirmed five of his judicial picks, behind the pace of former President Joe Biden, who had eight judicial nominees confirmed at this point in 2021.

An additional 10 judicial nominations remain pending, part of a backlog of about 250 picks awaiting confirmation, according to a Washington Post tracker.

The Senate is scheduled to break later this week for its monthlong August recess, but Trump has urged Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to keep working through the scheduled break to clear the backlog.

Despite the slow pace, Republicans have been apprehensive about eliminating the blue slip out of fear Democrats could exploit the lack of guardrails when they retake the Senate.

“Now, to people in the Real America – not here in Washington, DC, an island surrounded by reality – the people in Real America don’t care about what the blue slip’ is, but, in fact, it impacts the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. Attorneys who ensure law and order is enforced,” Grassley explained.

Democrats have also been taking advantage of some of the Senate’s arcane debate and voting rules to slow-walk many of Trump’s picks, which have caused Republicans to threaten recess appointments.

Recess appointments allow the president’s nominees to go through when the upper chamber is on recess, sidestepping the cumbersome confirmation process.

Traditionally, the House and Senate hold pro forma sessions, even during recesses, to block the executive branch from making such appointments.