Idaho Republican senators oppose President Trump’s pushback on ‘blue slip’ rule

A policy stance taken by Idaho’s two Republican U.S. senators is at odds with President Donald Trump in his push to fill federal judge and U.S. attorney positions without seeking approval from senators in their home states.

Trump railed Monday against the longstanding custom in the Senate Judiciary Committee of the so-called “blue slip” rule, which has stalled some of the president’s appointments. Through the practice, senators are asked for their opinions of nominees and have the power to prevent them from moving forward to a confirmation vote.

The process has frustrated Trump as he’s submitted U.S. district judge and U.S. attorney candidates in states where Democrats hold the Senate seats. Now he’s threatened to sue.

“We’re … going to be filing a lawsuit on blue slipping,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, according to Politico. “You know, blue slips make it impossible for me as president to appoint a judge or U.S. attorney because they have a gentlemen’s agreement. It’s nothing memorialized, it’s a gentlemen’s agreement that’s about 100 years old.”

According to precedent, the Judiciary Committee chair sends a blue slip to the two senators in the state where the president has made a nomination. They can return the slip to the committee to signal their approval, or withhold its return to show their objection to the pick.

Trump took to social media over the weekend to apply pressure to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Judiciary Committee and so far has refused to end the century-old blue slip policy to help get some of the president’s nominees across the finish line. In the post, Trump called the Senate tradition “old and outdated” and demanded Grassley do away with it so he can see his nominees confirmed, including in states with Democratic senators.

U.S. attorneys fill the district’s lead federal prosecutor role for the rest of the president’s term, while U.S. District Court judges are appointed for life.

“Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL!” Trump wrote.

Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch have long supported the blue slip process, which has granted the two Republicans influence over district judge and U.S. attorney appointments during Democratic administrations. Under the advisement of Risch and Crapo, President Joe Biden nominated U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford in January 2023. She was appointed as the first woman in the position in Idaho in May of that year.

“Sen. Crapo has supported the blue slip process and its deference to home-state senators’ views on those being considered for courts across the country,” Melanie Lawhorn, Crapo’s spokesperson, said Monday in an email to the Idaho Statesman.

Risch’s congressional and campaign offices did not return requests for comment. Risch is seeking reelection in the Senate and counts Trump’s endorsement in his bid for a fourth term.

In a letter to the Biden administration in November 2021, Risch and Crapo promoted how blue slips granted them authority over his judicial appointment in Idaho. Brailsford was chosen not long after.

“The blue slip procedure regarding filling U.S. District Court vacancies is alive and well,” the two senators wrote. “Therefore, we respectfully request a meeting with you at the earliest convenience to discuss filling this vacancy in a manner that is mutually acceptable. Without a mutual agreement, the vacancy cannot be filled.”

The Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment in response to a request from the Statesman.

Grassley in a post on X defended the Senate’s use of blue slips, which date to at least 1917, according to the Congressional Research Service. As chairman of the committee, he wrote that he believed the process helps set up presidential nominees for successful confirmations, rather than failures.

Other senior Senate GOP members, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, have publicly supported retaining blue slips, ABC News reported. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, who is on the Judiciary Committee, posted Monday to X that removing the practice in the Senate would be a “terrible, short-sighted ploy.”

Risch and Crapo earlier this year supported the return of Bart Davis as U.S. attorney of Idaho. Davis previously served in the position starting in September 2017 during Trump’s first term, until he resigned in February 2021 as Biden chose his own political appointee. Davis has yet to be confirmed by the full Senate.

Idaho has two U.S. District Court judges. The other is Chief District Judge David Nye, who was originally nominated by President Barack Obama in 2016 before Trump nominated him again to see the appointment through the next year. Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, appointed by President Bill Clinton, also handles a smaller caseload and potential conflicts of interest.

Idaho’s federal lawmakers, including Risch and Crapo, for years have sought a third full-time U.S. district judge position to help manage a growing caseload and ease wait times. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, cosponsored a bill to add dozens of new federal judges, including one in his home state. If that new position came under a future Democratic presidential administration, Idaho’s senators would have influence on the appointment with the blue slip rule still in place.

“Adding a third District judgeship will help reduce backlogs and ensure Idahoans receive timely justice,” Simpson said in a statement earlier this year. “This solution will strengthen our judicial system and better serve the people of Idaho.”

Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, previously cosponsored similar legislation. In a statement in January, he cited the savings to taxpayers by avoiding temporary assignments for out-of-state federal judges, and called the issue one of his top priorities in Congress.

“Idaho’s population has nearly tripled since a second District Court judge was added,” Fulcher said. “A third District judgeship is not only justified, it’s necessary.”

Hoping to address Idaho’s specific need sooner than later, Crapo and Risch cosponsored a Senate bill in January to add a U.S. district judge for the state. The legislation has been referred to the Judiciary Committee, but has yet to receive a hearing.

“The addition of a third District judge in Idaho is common sense and would help administer efficient and effective justice in our state,” Risch said in a statement at the time.