Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) just threw a curveball at President Trump, calling out the commander-in-chief for slamming him over an age-old Senate tradition.
According to the New York Post, the spat centers on the slow pace of confirming Trump’s judicial and U.S. Attorney picks, with Grassley pushing back against Trump’s public criticism of the Senate’s ‘blue slip’ custom—a rule that’s become a thorn in the side of Republican ambitions.
This drama kicked off when Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday evening, airing his grievances about the ‘blue slip’ tradition, a Senate rule over a century old that lets home-state senators weigh in on nominations for federal judges and U.S. Attorneys.
If both senators from a state give a thumbs-down on that little blue piece of paper, the nomination gets stalled before it even reaches the Judiciary Committee for a proper hearing.
Case in point: New Jersey’s Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim recently wielded this power to block Alina Habba’s nomination as U.S. Attorney, forcing Trump to withdraw her name and settle for an acting role instead.
Trump didn’t hold back, venting online that this “ancient, and probably Unconstitutional, ‘CUSTOM’” blocks his ability to appoint his chosen candidates. Well, that’s a spicy take, but let’s be real—calling a tradition unconstitutional doesn’t make it disappear, especially when it’s been a Senate staple for generations.
Grassley, clearly not amused, responded on Wednesday with a rare public rebuke, saying, “I was offended by what the president said.”
He added, “I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.” That’s a polite way of saying, ‘Mr. President, let’s keep this professional,’ and it’s hard not to respect Grassley for standing his ground without stooping to mudslinging.
Grassley also pointed out, “Now, to people in the Real America... the ‘blue slip’... impacts the district judges who serve their communities.” He’s got a point—while Washington debates arcane rules, folks back home just want courts that function and laws that are enforced.
Trump’s irritation isn’t baseless, though, as the confirmation process in his second term has crawled at a snail’s pace, with only five judicial picks confirmed so far compared to eight for President Joe Biden at a similar juncture in 2021.
A staggering backlog of around 250 nominations awaits Senate action, per a Washington Post tracker, with 10 judicial picks currently pending—and the Senate is set to take its monthlong August recess later this week.
Trump has pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to keep the chamber working through the break to tackle this logjam, but don’t hold your breath—traditionally, pro forma sessions during recesses prevent recess appointments, a workaround Republicans have floated to bypass the gridlock.
Behind the scenes, Senate Republicans are brainstorming ways to speed up confirmations, but they’re treading carefully on scrapping the blue slip rule, wary that Democrats could turn the tables if they reclaim Senate control.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been leveraging the Senate’s complex debate and voting rules to drag their feet on Trump’s nominees, a tactic that’s as old as politics itself but no less frustrating for conservatives eager to reshape the judiciary.
At the end of the day, this clash between Grassley and Trump underscores a deeper tension—how to balance Senate traditions with the urgent need to fill critical judicial roles. It’s a messy fight, but one that’s worth having if it means getting qualified judges and attorneys in place to serve the American people.
