Thursday, February 22, 2018

Senate Democrats are trying to stall Trump's nominations by rewriting the history of 'blue slips'

Since 1917, whenever a president has selected a judicial nominee to fill a court vacancy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has issued blue slips of paper to each senator representing the state where the vacancy occurred.

The historical purpose of the blue slip has been to gather insights about judicial nominees from home-state senators and encourage the White House to consult with them before choosing a nominee.

This change allowed Democrats to block a lot of former President George W. Bush's judicial nominees.

My policy, which is based on the policies of the vast majority of my predecessors, is that the lack of two positive blue slips will not necessarily preclude a circuit-court nominee from receiving a hearing unless the White House failed to consult with home-state senators.

The Democrats justified their decision by arguing that 41 senators should not be allowed to block nominees with majority support.

They now argue that one senator should singlehandedly be able to stall the process before the nominees are even considered in the committee.

Whether a nominee is suitable for the federal appellate bench is a decision for the entire Senate.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/chuck-grassley-senate-democrats-are-trying-to-stall-trumps-nominations-by-rewriting-the-history-of-blue-slips/article/2649670 

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