Sen. Chuck Grassley is seen in the U.S. Capitol after a Senate luncheon. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Trump and his allies escalated attacks on the blue slip process this week, accusing Grassley of blocking nominees by maintaining it.
"This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president threatened to sue over what he said was a "gentlemen's agreement," though it is unclear whom the government would sue and on what grounds.
"It's not based on law, and I think it’s unconstitutional, and I’ll probably be filing a suit on that pretty soon," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Asked about the possible lawsuit and why Trump's nominees in blue states are struggling with confirmation, the White House told Fox News Digital in a statement the holdup must be addressed.
"Senate Democrats have led a campaign of historic obstruction against President Trump and his nominees," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. "The left’s partisan, obstructionist agenda is only hurting the American people and it must end."
Trump appointed his former personal defense lawyer Alina Habba as "interim" U.S. attorney, which carries a 120-day term limit that federal judges have the ability to extend under federal vacancy laws if no one has been confirmed by the Senate to the position by then.
Judges have opted to extend Trump’s nominees, like in Jay Clayton's case in the Southern District of New York. But in an unusual move, the federal judges of New Jersey rejected Habba.
The judges selected someone else, whom Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi promptly fired. Trump and Bondi then used a series of legal maneuvers to reinstall Habba to another temporary term, but a federal judge ruled the moves unconstitutional. The Trump administration is appealing that decision in a case that could now make its way to the Supreme Court and force the justices to weigh in on what has become a pattern of Trump end-running around the Senate.
ALINA HABBA SAYS SHE 'WON'T BE INTIMIDATED' AFTER SENATE CUSTOM HINDERS US ATTORNEY NOMINATION
Habba has blamed Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., (not pictured) for refusing to give blue slip approval to her nomination to (Fox News)
Nominees must also provide the Senate Judiciary Committee with a questionnaire, an FBI background check and financial disclosures. A source familiar with the process told Fox News Digital the committee did not receive Habba's paperwork to begin vetting her.
Habba has said she could not begin the process because Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey, would not give blue slip approval. It is unclear if and when the Trump administration approached the pair of senators about Habba.
Habba, like Trump, blamed Grassley.
"The blue slip TRADITION prevents a nominee from getting to the point of making that case to the committee and Senate floor. You know who can get rid of it? YOU @ChuckGrassley," Habba wrote on X.
She told Grassley "this is a time for leadership, not deflection" and that the chairman should not be "doing the dirty work of Thom Tillis, Corey Booker and Andy Kim."
Booker's and Kim's offices did not respond to a request for comment.
Grassley went on a tear on social media this week, defending his decision to maintain blue slips, which the committee chair has discretion over.
"U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not hv the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t hv the votes to get out of cmte," the 91-year-old senator wrote. "As chairman I set Pres Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE."
GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP'S PRESSURE TO 'HAVE THE COURAGE' TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is among several Republicans who will not vote for a nominee who has not been approved by home state senators, pointed to a statement on social media when asked for comment by Fox News Digital.
"Chairman Grassley is a principled conservative who wants to keep radical liberals off the bench. Getting rid of the blue slip is a terrible, short-sighted ploy that paves the path for Democrats to ram through extremist liberal judges in red states over the long-term," Tillis wrote on X.
Trump has thus far secured opposing party blue slips for four nominees. Davis said Trump is facing a unique level of obstruction from Democrats.
"Every White House does what it can to engage the opposition party, but Democrats have made it clear they’re not interested in working with President Trump, so it’s understandable that his focus has been elsewhere for now," Davis said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for instance, has refused to give a blue slip to Clayton, the former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman. But Clayton's ability to win the vote of the federal judges in the Southern District of New York has allowed him to serve as U.S. attorney without confirmation.
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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member, has further complicated the confirmation process by putting a hold on U.S. attorney nominees, which drastically slows, but does not fully block, the process.
Vice President J.D. Vance, then a senator, did the same for Biden's nominees toward the end of the last administration.
Trump's fight with the upper chamber is likely to evolve, especially as higher courts weigh in on Habba's nomination, which is currently invalid, according to the district court judge's decision this month. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has set a briefing schedule in the case that stretches through October, but eventually the Supreme Court could also chime in on whether Trump's manner of sidestepping the Senate is constitutional.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-nominees-squeezed-between-blue-slips-blue-obstruction