US President Donald Trump on Friday bucked a long-standing Senate tradition and called on Republicans to abandon the procedural mechanism known as the Blue Slip.
Trump called the mechanism “stupid and outdated” on Truth Social, saying it “precludes very talented and dedicated people from reaching high office” and called for an end to the “old and ridiculous practice” he accused Democrats of abusing.
A screenshot showing a post by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social.
What is the Blue Slip mechanism?
The Blue Slip mechanism, an informal practice within the Senate Judiciary Committee that has existed for more than a century, has over the years provided a way for appointed lawmakers to approve or oppose judicial nominees or U.S. attorney nominees who would have jurisdiction over their home states.
The Blue Slip mechanism, which has been in place since about 1917, literally involves a blue slip: when the President of the United States nominates an individual to be a federal judge, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee sends a blue-colored slip—a so-called “Blue Slip”—to the two senators who represent the state in which the nominee is to be appointed.
The purpose of the mechanism is to solicit the views of home state senators on a nominee of the US President, and lawmakers can respond affirmatively, oppose the nomination (negative Blue Slip), or refuse to return the form (withhold Blue Slip).
Read also | Trump said he would not send US troops to Gaza after Hamas warned to “kill”.
However, whether a negative or retained Blue Slip can veto a nomination depends on the policy of the committee chairman, which has changed many times over the past few decades depending on the political party of the US president and the Senate majority.
The idea behind the mechanism is that the US president should consult senators representing their home states before appointing federal judges to serve in those states. Reason? It gives local representatives a say in who gets a lifetime appointment to a court that will have a direct impact on their constituents.
“The main purpose of the Blue Slips is to protect the nominating and confirmation privileges of House senators of the minority parties and the people they represent from presidents who might otherwise appoint incompetent or unsuitable prosecutors as the chief federal law enforcement agencies in their states for four years, or similarly incompetent judges who would enjoy life on the federal bench,” the chairman said. Carl Tobias Law School of the University of Richmod. cited as told by the Courthouse News Service.
“Career was seriously injured”
Trump’s claim against the long-standing practice is that it could be used to block the nomination of his nominees.
“I have eight GREAT US Attorneys, highly respected ALL, who will not be confirmed for their positions in various high-profile states just because they are republicans (sic),” the US president wrote, adding that Democrats had convinced Republican Chuck Grassley, the Senate’s second-ranking official after the vice president, to honor tradition.
And the president’s concerns may not be unfounded: During Trump’s second presidency, Democrats have already used Blue Slips against some of the president’s nominees, the latest being New Jersey senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, who blocked Trump’s choice of Alina Habbo to become U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Read also | John Bolton, Trump’s ex-NSA, indicted on 18 counts over AOL email mishandling
Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer used the mechanism to block the nomination of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton as US attorney for New York.
But the mechanism is subject to the whims of the majority party, and history shows that lawmakers have tweaked the mechanism to suit their needs at different times.
For example, during Trump’s first presidency, Grassley, who was then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced what was called a “circuit exception” to tradition, in which he said Senate Republicans would no longer honor Blue Slips from Democratic lawmakers hoping to block Trump’s nominees to the appeals courts. The waiver paved the way for Trump to set a record for the number of circuit judges confirmed during a president’s first term.
Similarly, when Democrats won control of the Senate in 2020, they refused to honor the GOP’s blue-ticket nominations for President Joe Biden’s impeachment, a move they claimed was a fair response.
This improved tradition has continued ever since, as the Senate only recognizes Blue Slips for federal district court nominees and US attorney nominees.
Despite this friction between the two parties surrounding this tradition, both refused to end the tradition.
Even as Trump has called for the mechanism to be eliminated, Senate Republicans have so far refused to budge, with Grassley, again the top Judiciary Committee post, telling reporters on Wednesday that he has no intention of abandoning the practice.
Responding to Trump calling Democratic senators “scumbags” for withholding blue tickets for his nominees, Grassley said Wednesday, “I was offended by what the president said. I’m disappointed that it would lead to personal insults.”
Will the stalemate continue, or will Republicans cave to Trump’s demands? We’ll have to wait and find out.
