Overview
- President Trump urged John Thune to terminate the blue-slip practice, labeling it a scam that lets Democratic senators block his judicial and U.S. attorney nominees.
- Thune said many Republicans want to preserve the tradition and stated there are not enough votes to change it.
- Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley has kept the courtesy in place as several Democratic senators returned blue slips for lower-profile U.S. attorney nominees, including Jerome Gorgon and Erin Creegan, enabling progress toward upcoming package votes.
- By the end of next week, the Senate was on track to have confirmed about 31 of Trump’s U.S. attorneys, largely in states represented by two Republican senators.
- Courts have constrained interim workarounds: an appeals court found Alina Habba unlawfully serving in New Jersey leading to her resignation, and a judge dismissed indictments in Virginia after ruling Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed.