Overview
- Trump called the blue slip practice “stupid and outdated” in late‑night posts and urged Republicans to abandon it.
- He said eight U.S. attorney nominees will not be confirmed in consequential states because they are Republicans.
- Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has maintained that nominees without returned blue slips lack the votes in committee or on the floor and says he is setting picks up for success, not failure.
- The blue slip is an informal custom dating to at least 1917 and, after a 2017 change for appellate courts, is currently applied to district judge and U.S. attorney nominations at the chair’s discretion.
- Recent fallout includes the withdrawal of Alina Habba in New Jersey after opposition from Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim and a judge’s August ruling that she was unlawfully serving, with other contested picks including Jay Clayton in SDNY and Erin Creegan in New Hampshire.