Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is open to discussing reinstating the past Senate norm of allowing home state senators to veto judicial nominees they disagree with, as the possibility of former President Trump being re-elected in November becomes more realistic. The lack of consideration for “blue slips,” which are used by home state senators to approve or oppose judicial nominees, has been a source of frustration for Republicans. Durbin expressed a willingness to begin a bipartisan conversation on this matter and stressed that any changes should be prospective and not based on the outcome of future elections.
Some critics claim that Democrats are concerned about the fate of judicial nominations under another Trump administration. However, Mike Davis, former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, called this idea “nonsense.” Despite these claims, Durbin has not provided further comment on the matter. Grassley himself departed from honoring blue slips during the Trump administration, suggesting that Democrats were using the rule as a substitute for the filibuster. It remains unclear whether Grassley would support reintroducing the rule if Republicans regain the majority in November.
Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, noted that the blue slip rule has not been an absolute bar to considering nominees and that only a few Judiciary Committee chairs have strictly enforced it. Political science professor Ryan Owens suggested that Durbin’s willingness to consider re-instituting the rule reflects uncertainty and the potential for a Democratic weakness going into the elections. While the outcome remains uncertain, both parties are preparing for the possibility of a change in power.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has urged his Democratic colleagues to support the reinstatement of the blue slip rule and to consider the concerns raised by home state senators. There is a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans regarding who is responsible for the rule no longer being enforced, with some pointing to Grassley’s actions and others tracing it back to a decision by Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2003 to break away from Senate norms. Despite bipartisan interest in reinstating the rule, it remains unlikely that a resolution will be reached before the upcoming election.
The timeline of events leading to the disregard of the blue slip rule is a point of contention between the two parties. Republicans attribute this development to actions taken by Democrats in the past, while Democrats believe the trajectory began with actions by Grassley during the Trump administration. Despite efforts to reach a resolution, political analysts remain skeptical about the feasibility of a compromise before the election. The fate of the blue slip rule may ultimately depend on the outcome of the presidential and Senate elections in November.
