Grassley says he's nixing blue slips for pair of nominees

[mystery-ak]

Grassley says he's nixing blue slips for pair of nominees
By Jordain Carney - 11/16/17 05:13 PM EST

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is moving to nix the blue slip for two of President Trump’s judicial picks, sparking a showdown with Democrats over nominations.

Grassley announced on Thursday that he has scheduled Nov. 29 hearings for David Stras, Trump’s nomination to be an appellate judge on the 8th Circuit, and for Kyle Duncan, nominated to serve the 5th Circuit.

“Today, I’m announcing that the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing for two circuit court nominees, each of whom has one home state senator who has not returned a blue slip containing a positive endorsement,” Grassley said from the Senate floor.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/360791-grassley-says-hes-nixing-blue-slips-for-pair-of-nominees

[Right_in_Virginia]

Good.   :thumbsup2:

[Right_in_Virginia]

Democrats Just Lost One Of The Only Ways They Could Block Trump's Judicial Nominees
BuzzFeed News, Nov 16, 2017, Zoe Tillman

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Grassley's move will get rid of one of the few obstacles the Trump administration has faced in getting judges confirmed. Trump nominees who have made it out of committee have all been confirmed so far by the Republican-controlled Senate, and with 145 vacancies pending and more opening up soon, Trump is poised to leave his mark on the judiciary early on in his first term.

Under the blue slip process, some, but not all, chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee would not schedule hearings unless both home state senators returned forms — historically on blue sheets of paper — signaling their approval. At the start of the year, Grassley indicated he was still following this practice, delaying hearings for some nominees until Democrats returned their blue slips.


Read more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/democrats-just-lost-one-of-the-only-ways-they-could-block?utm_term=.trPZGqDxZe#.wgV9zMAq96