MIKE DAVIS: Why Trump's blue-slip blues aren't Grassley's fault

President Trump is rightfully aggravated that immoderate of his apical choices for U.S. attorneys successful Democrat-controlled states are being blocked by Democrats and their leftist allies successful the judicial branch. But the caller attacks from immoderate supporters of the president against Sen. Chuck Grassley, Trump’s astir effectual state successful the Senate, are misplaced.

To start, retrieve who Grassley is. He’s a dignified statesman, but besides a shrewd legislator, fearless investigator, and Senate workhorse. He doesn’t pursuit the limelight but softly puts 1 triumph aft the different connected the scoreboard for Trump and his MAGA agenda.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) participates successful a proceeding connected the attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump astatine a run rally, convened by the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees, Washington, DC, July 30, 2024. (ALLISON BAILEY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

This isn’t bluster. Trump appointed 3 Supreme Court Justices, and 2 were carried squarely connected the shoulders of Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. He stopped erstwhile President Barack Obama from filling a Supreme Court spot with Merrick Garland, Joe Biden’s aboriginal anti-Trump lawfare-supporting AG, enabling Trump to instal Justice Neil Gorsuch instead. And erstwhile Democrats tried to ruin Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s beingness and derail his nomination, it was Grassley’s dependable manus that guided Kavanaugh done the partisan spectacle, unopen down the lies, and got him confirmed.

Grassley’s done much than anybody successful Congress to exposure partisan lawfare against Trump. It’s acknowledgment to Grassley that we cognize of the beingness of Arctic Frost: Jack Smith and the Biden FBI’s demented run to enactment Trump down bars and marque immoderate Republican that truthful overmuch arsenic breathed a taxable of transgression investigation. Whistleblowers astatine the FBI knew they could lone spot 1 antheral to bring these damning details to light: Chuck Grassley. Now we cognize the Biden Justice Department and complicit judges spied connected Republican members of some the House and the Senate and sought records for hundreds of different MAGA patriots, galore of whom are a portion of Trump’s medication today, similar Dan Scavino, Peter Navarro, and Harmeet Dhillon (who Grassley led to confirmation arsenic Judiciary Committee chairman).

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In fact, Grassley is virtually breaking his ain records erstwhile it comes to Senate confirmations. He’s processing and confirming judges astatine a complaint faster than successful Trump’s archetypal administration, erstwhile Grassley was besides Judiciary Chairman. He navigated the vicious onslaught to corroborate Judge Emil Bove, flipping the Third Circuit to bulk Republican appointees. He bulldozed absorption and confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and different Justice Department leaders. He’s besides processing U.S. attorneys done his committee faster than Democrats did during the Biden administration. And he’s doing it each portion starring the complaint against judicial activism and unconstitutional cosmopolitan injunctions. And the billions of dollars the medication received successful Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill to unafraid our borderline and fastener up unsafe criminals? Those borderline information provisions were written by nary different than – you guessed it – Chuck Grassley.

Lindsey Halligan (left), and Alina Habba (right), person been blocked by Democrats utilizing the bluish gaffe tradition. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

We're connected gait to spot the aforesaid fig of lawyer confirmations by year’s extremity arsenic successful Biden’s archetypal year. But a fewer of his apical choices – friends of excavation and chap warriors similar Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan – person been stopped by Democrats utilizing a century-old "blue slip" rule.

Sideline commentators and keyboard warriors look to deliberation Grassley could conscionable bang his chairman’s gavel and marque the bluish gaffe spell away. But is Grassley, the antheral who’s done truthful overmuch for Trump, truly sandbagging these nominees? The answer, for those who attraction to really bash their homework, is no.

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The bluish gaffe should go, but Grassley can’t conscionable marque it hap alone. He needs votes to beforehand nominees, and helium doesn’t person them without bluish slips. Months ago, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., stated unequivocally connected the Senate level that helium wouldn’t corroborate nominees without one. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., echoed this. That ends the conversation. Without the ballot of either of these 2 members of the Judiciary Committee, nominees fail, careless of Grassley’s actions.

And Tillis and Kennedy are hardly alone. Senators, some Republican and Democrat, won’t soon springiness up this power. All 100 senators prioritize having a accidental successful who gets to beryllium a justice oregon authoritative successful their authorities implicit letting the president determine who serves successful different states. That’s wherefore Democrat Dick Durbin couldn’t get escaped of the bluish gaffe erstwhile helium chaired the Judiciary Committee during the Biden administration, adjacent though progressive activists and their media allies begged him to bash it.

Attorney General Merrick Garland testified earlier the House Judiciary Committee connected Wednesday, September 20. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

Senators besides won’t get escaped of the bluish gaffe due to the fact that they cognize it benefits them erstwhile they’re successful the minority. Republicans utilized the bluish gaffe to artifact Biden from appointing astir 30 territory judges, and truthful far, Trump has nominated 15 bold constitutionalist judges to capable the seats that Republicans held open.

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I don’t similar bluish slips, but I unrecorded successful the existent world. I tin number votes, and I cognize bluish slips aren’t going away. As the Senate Judiciary Committee’s main counsel for nominations, moving for Grassley successful Trump’s archetypal term, I helped extremity bluish slips for circuit judges, due to the fact that their jurisdictions screen aggregate states and truthful their fates evidently shouldn’t beryllium determined by a azygous state’s senators. That was a large achievement, but the bounds of what was imaginable for now.

Democrats volition halt astatine thing to evade accountability, and Trump shouldn’t fto them. His medication should usage each maneuver to flooded obstruction and prosecute lawfare perpetrators. He’s close to privation the bluish slip’s end. But the Senate simply won’t present it this Congress arsenic the votes don’t exist, and the president’s nationalist outrage unluckily hasn’t moved the needle yet.

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As I’ve said before, to abolish the bluish slip, the medication indispensable physique support: unafraid commitments from astatine slightest 50 Republican senators, including each Senate Judiciary Republican, to ballot for nominees without bluish slips. Grassley wants Trump’s nominees to succeed, and knows the votes presently aren’t determination for nominees who don’t person bluish slips. Trump should spot his astir effectual Senate ally’s judgment. Grassley is simply a workhorse, not a showhorse. And Grassley has delivered much for Trump than immoderate different senator.

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