Trump Rips ‘Unconstitutional’ Senate Custom That Allows Democrat ‘SLEAZEBAGS’ To Stall Judicial Noms
President Donald Trump tore into the Senate’s outdated “blue slip” tradition on Tuesday, calling it an “unconstitutional” relic that Democrats are abusing to block his judicial and U.S. Attorney nominees.
Trump’s comments, made in a sharply worded Truth Social post, directly challenged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), urging him to abandon the blue slip policy that has empowered Senate Democrats to stall appointments across key states.
“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…with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump wrote. “Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others — SLEAZEBAGS ALL — have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates.”
The blue slip custom, a Senate courtesy rather than a law, gives home-state senators significant sway over nominees for federal judgeships and U.S. Attorney roles in their states. If even one senator returns a negative or unreturned blue slip, it can stall a nomination at the committee level — but only if the committee chair chooses to honor the custom.
Trump didn’t mince words in slamming the arrangement.
“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,’” he said. “If you have even one person in the opposite party serving in the U.S. Senate, he/she must give consent, thereby completely stopping the opposite party’s nomination.”
Trump also called out the hypocrisy, noting that Joe Biden’s administration ignored the blue slip tradition when it suited their agenda.
“Biden broke the custom at least twice,” Trump said, “and he wasn’t the first.”
In practice, the policy has prevented Trump from nominating law-and-order conservatives to judicial posts in Democrat-controlled states like California, New York, Illinois, and Virginia — states Trump pointed out are “coincidentally” plagued by high crime and political corruption.
“In those states, I would either have to appoint a Democrat or a weak and ineffective Republican to get approval,” Trump said. “That’s insane. These are the places where we most need strong judges and U.S. Attorneys — and we can’t get them because of a procedural courtesy?”
Trump called for an immediate end to the practice, placing the responsibility squarely on Grassley’s shoulders.
“Grassley has the power to fix this. I respect him — but this needs to end now. We are letting sleazebags stall the restoration of law and order,” he wrote.
Despite the pressure from the president, Grassley’s office signaled he isn’t budging — at least not yet. A spokesman told Politico that Grassley has “already successfully moved U.S. Attorneys through committee” with blue slip support from Democrats in Virginia and Minnesota, and that input from home-state senators remains important.
“When a nominee comes out of committee, all 100 senators have a say,” the statement read, adding that “part of their consideration is based on the home state senators’ input.”
But Trump’s public rebuke has now turned the blue slip fight into a litmus test for Senate Republicans: follow the tradition, or follow the president’s lead.
With Trump continuing to rack up judicial confirmations and reshaping the federal bench, the blue slip debate is likely to intensify as Democrats look for any tool to slow his progress. For now, the message from Trump is clear — the courtesy has become a weapon of obstruction, and it’s time for it to go.