Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee complained Wednesday that chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was ignoring tradition in order to "jam through" President Donald Trump's judicial nominees, the Washington Examiner reported.
Democrats bemoaned Grassley's sacking of the blue-slip custom, where senators from the home state of a judicial nominee could delay or altogether spike the candidacy of a nominee.
"It continues to raise the question of what's the big deal that makes everybody so desperate to jam judges through that, in this case, they're even willing to destroy, in the case of [Wednesday's] hearing, they're even willing to destroy the blue-slip process and tear that down in order to get there?" the Examiner quoted Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said.
However, it was Democrats who were abusing the blue-slip custom in order to obstruct nearly every judicial candidate that might have ultimately forced Grassley's hand in the first place.
That failed to come up during the Democrats' complaints.
"I really object to this," ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday. "The Senate, unlike the House, has preserved strong rights for those in the minority, and the blue slip has been one of those traditions. It appears that is no longer the case."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.