The Scoop
President Donald Trump’s unusual attack on Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley is motivated by broad frustrations with Democrats delaying all of his nominees, but he’s especially irked by one: Jay Clayton.
Trump is incensed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s sway over Clayton, the president’s pick for US attorney in the critical Southern District of New York, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Schumer is able to sideline Clayton through the Senate custom of “blue slips” — a tradition that gives home-state senators veto power over federal district judges and district-level US attorneys. That particular bit of leverage is prompting Trump’s call for Grassley to scrap blue slips for good.
“Senator Grassley must step up,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday evening. “He should do this IMMEDIATELY, and not let the Democrats laugh at him.”
The broadside came as Grassley worked behind the scenes to help confirm Clayton, Trump’s first-term US Securities and Exchange Commission chief. The Iowa Republican has personally discussed Clayton’s nomination with Schumer, one of the people said, though it’s not clear that the New York senator will budge.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a former chair of the committee, has also spoken to Schumer about the nomination.
Trump is also angry about New Jersey Democrats stymieing his pick for US attorney in the Garden State, Alina Habba, through the same method they are blocking Clayton, according to a third person with knowledge of the situation.
Clayton’s is not the only tough confirmation Grassley has helped Trump with in recent days. The president posted to criticize him mere hours before the confirmation of Emil Bove to an appellate court seat, a vote that forced Grassley to spend significant political capital as Democrats used whistleblower testimony to try to tank the nomination.
After Senate Republicans confirmed Bove, 50-49, Trump was amplifying attacks on Grassley as a “RINO”. Grassley twice declined to comment to reporters on Wednesday morning.
But as he convened a Judiciary Committee hearing a few minutes later, it was clear Grassley had had enough.
“Last night I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans on the blue slip,” Grassley said. “I was offended by what the president said and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”
The dispute over the district-level blue slip is among the most arcane in the Senate, which has abandoned plenty of previous custom in recent years. Yet the veto power is still viewed as vital by members in both parties. Republicans used blue slips to gain leverage over Democrats just last year, keeping open judgeships in conservative states until Trump became president.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was Judiciary chair then and faced harsh pressure to eviscerate the tradition but held firm. Now Grassley appears committed to returning the favor.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Know More
Grassley has wide support from most of his colleagues. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters there’s not a ton of interest in scrapping the blue slip.
Still, Republicans take issue with Democrats stepping up to stymie a nominee like Clayton, who received bipartisan support when he was confirmed to lead Trump’s first-term SEC. (Clayton, notably, had no prosecutorial experience prior to assuming the role on an acting basis.) That’s in addition to the nominee backlog on the Senate floor.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Semafor there’s “incredible frustration” on Democrats’ procedural tactics delaying nominees. But he added, “on the blue slip, I think members want to keep that.”
“It’s so important for judges in their state and they want to have input. And so when we don’t have the administration … we need that process. That’s why I think there’s support to keep them,” Hoeven said.
Notable
- Clayton’s term as temporary acting chief of the SDNY office expires next month; he was unaware of the firing of Maurene Comey from his office before it occurred at the behest of administration officials, The New York Times reported.
Shelby Talcott contributed.