Overview

• Chuck Schumer has refused to return blue slips for Jay Clayton and Joseph Nocella Jr., blocking their nominations as U.S. Attorneys for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
• Schumer accuses President Trump of seeking to use these appointments to weaponize the Justice Department against political adversaries.
• The blue slip tradition allows home-state senators to object to judicial and prosecutorial nominees, though it is an informal Senate practice rather than a binding rule.
• Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has stated he will honor the blue slip tradition, potentially preventing the nominations from advancing to a Senate vote.
• This procedural standoff underscores broader tensions over executive power and Senate oversight in federal appointment processes.