President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media aboard Air Force One as he travels from Washington to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 31, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
"Nuking the blue slip would be a huge mistake," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital.
Tillis, like several other Republicans, has argued that the blue slips are a valuable tool of the minority, and that inevitably, the GOP would need to use the tradition to their advantage when Democrats regain control of the upper chamber.
The Senate has confirmed 33 judges since the start of Trump’s second term, a figure that dwarfs the number of total judicial nominees, including U.S. attorneys, district and circuit court judges, moved through the upper chamber during his first go-round in the White House.
TRUMP TAKES AIM AT SENATE 'BLUE SLIP' TRADITION AS GOP RESISTS CHANGE
Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, Sept. 16, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Much of his frustration with the tradition, which has been around for over 100 years in the upper chamber, likely stemmed from the nominations of Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan getting derailed by blue slips last year.
He’s taken his frustrations out on Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a vocal proponent of the practice, and other Republicans that want to maintain the tradition.
Notably, Grassley modified the tradition in 2017 to allow for circuit court judges to skirt the process, further boosting the number of judges Republicans were able to confirm under Trump despite Democratic objections.
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When asked if the Senate’s pace in confirming judicial nominees further affirmed that the blue slip was here to stay, Grassley told Fox News Digital, "It doesn’t need to be a present question."
"Because it's a question of 110 years, and everybody in the Senate wants to maintain the blue slip," Grassley said.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-accelerates-trump-judge-confirmations-pressure-builds-kill-senate-blue-slip