Trump blasts Grassley for letting Dems block judicial, DOJ nominees with 'blue slips'

President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley for allowing Democratic senators to block his nominees for federal district court judges and the Department of Justice. 

"I have a Constitutional Right to appoint Judges and U.S. Attorneys, but that RIGHT has been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

"This is because of an old and outdated 'custom' known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn, even though the Democrats, including Crooked Joe Biden (Twice!), have done so on numerous occasions," he went on. "Therefore, the only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats! Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL!"

The "blue slip" practice that Trump mentioned allows home-state senators to veto nominees to district courts and U.S. attorneys' offices. The Senate Judiciary Committee's chairmen have traditionally not proceeded with federal district-level judicial and prosecutorial nominees unless both senators who represent those areas return blue-slip documents, signing off on the nominees.

Last month, Trump was forced to withdraw the nomination of Alina Habba to serve as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey after the state's Democratic senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, opposed her nomination.