Grassley won’t budge on blue slip tradition despite Trump’s demands
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President Donald Trump pressured the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to end a longstanding practice in the Senate to expedite his nominations to district courts and U.S. attorney’s offices, but the lawmaker isn’t budging.
Trump late Tuesday night demanded that Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, “have the courage” to end the “blue slip” tradition in the Senate, which effectively gives senators the ability to veto district court and U.S. attorney nominees in their home states.
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Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seen during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. ( Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He charged that the practice was “probably unconstitutional,” and lamented that a president would “never be permitted to appoint the person of his choice” because of it.
“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. 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, with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on July 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP/Alex Brandon)
“Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others, SLEAZEBAGS ALL, have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates,” he continued.
The 91-year-old Grassely, who has been a member of Congress since 1975 and in the Senate since 1981, handily beat his previous opponent by over 12 points three years ago.
The longtime lawmaker addressed Trump’s comments during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday that he was surprised to see the president “go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the ‘blue slip.'”
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer walks to speak at a news conference following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on June 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Now, to people in the Real America — not here in Washington, D.C., 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 said. “I was offended by what the President said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”
Trump’s fury comes as Senate Republicans are working to ram as many of his nominees through Senate Democrats’ blockade as possible. Currently, lawmakers are working on a deal to get more low-hanging fruit nominations, like ambassadors, through in a large group rather than eating away at floor time.
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One instance where Democrats have opted to block some of Trump’s nominees came earlier this year when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., used his blue slip privileges to nix Trump’s U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
“Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,” Schumer said at the time.
“Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions,” he said.