Trump slams ‘outdated’ process for nominating judges. What are blue slips?

President Donald Trump recently attacked the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, a long-standing practice that can slow or block judicial nominees.

“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 wrote in an Aug. 25 Truth Social post.

“This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn,” Trump added.

What are blue slips?

The blue-slip process — which dates to 1917 — is a Senate Judiciary Committee tradition applied during the confirmation of nominees for U.S. circuit and district courts, as well as U.S. attorneys.

After the president announces a nominee, the committee chairman (currently Grassley) delivers a blue form to the two senators from the same state as the nominee, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.

“If a home state Senator has no objection to a nominee, the blue slip is returned to the chairman with a positive response,” per the report. “If, however, a home state Senator objects to a nominee, the blue slip is either withheld or returned with a negative response.”

Historically, the committee policy — set by the chairman — has been that a single objection would halt a nominee’s path to confirmation.

Between 1956 and 2016, just three judicial nominees who lacked support from both home state senators were confirmed, according to CRS.

The purpose of the blue slips is to foster “consultation between the White House and home-state senators on judicial nominees, ensuring that nominees are mainstream and well-suited to serve in their states,” according to the committee. “The blue slip ensures the White House doesn’t ignore those bipartisan processes, which produce well-qualified candidates.”

In 2017, under a GOP majority, the policy was changed so that circuit court nominees no longer require two positive blue slips to move forward.

Why is Trump attacking them?

Trump’s attack on blue slips comes as one of his nominees has stalled in the upper chamber.

In July, Trump tapped Alina Habba — his former personal lawyer — to be U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. She is currently serving in the role in a temporary capacity. However, a district judge recently ruled she is serving “unlawfully,” following the expiration of the interim period and a series of moves by the Trump administration to keep her in power.

But, aside from her legal predicament, Habba faces unlikely odds in the Senate since New Jersey Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker, both Democrats, used their blue slips to block her confirmation.

“This tradition that Senator Grassley is upholding effectively prevents anybody in a blue state from going through into Senate to then be voted on,” Habba said in an Aug. 24 interview, according to Politico.

Grassley defended his decision to keep the blue slip policy in place.

“A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not (have) the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t (have) the votes to get out of (committee),” he wrote on X on Aug. 25. “As chairman I set (Trump’s nominees) up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE.”

In a follow-up post, Grassley said Habba’s nomination was withdrawn and the Judiciary Committee “never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Trump slams ‘outdated’ process for nominating judges. What are blue slips?."