Republican Chairman ‘Offended’ As Trump Pushes Him To Nuke Senate Custom

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says he was “offended” by President Donald Trump’s call for him to scrap the “blue slip” tradition in which home-state senators can effectively block nominees they do not support.

The rebuke from Grassley, whose panel has been advancing Trump’s picks for U.S. attorney and judge positions, came as Trump pressures the Senate to cancel its plans for a summer recess and confirm more of his nominees.

“Last night, I was surprised to see President Trump on Truth Social go after me and Senate Republicans over what we call the ‘blue slip,'” Grassley announced at the beginning of a nominations hearing.

“Now, to people in the real America — not here in this Washington, D.C., an island surrounded by reality — the people in real America don’t care about what the ‘blue slip’ is, but, in fact, it impacts in their states the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. attorneys who ensure law and order is enforced,” Grassley said.

He continued, “I was offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”

Trump urged Grassley to do away with the “blue slip” custom in a post on Truth Social, contending that any of his nominees from states with Democrat senators would keep getting shut down because of it.

“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump declared.

The president also said the “blue slip” tradition was “probably” unconstitutional while pushing Grassley to “step up” and “not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective.” He called Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), and others “SLEAZEBAGS.”

Democrats have already used the “blue slip” tradition against Trump’s nominees in the first six months of his second term.

Schumer revealed he would block two picks for federal prosecutor roles earlier this year, but Trump sidestepped the process the Democrat sought to jam by appointing his nominees to be interim U.S. attorneys — a designation that lasts only 120 days.

Grassley has voiced support for Trump’s call for the Senate to cancel its August recess to combat tactics by the Democrats to hinder the confirmation process.

“If Pres Trump asks us to not take [an August recess, I’m with] him. Democrats [have] been slow walking nominations,” Grassley said in a Sunday post on X written with a lot of short-hand. “We [have] to make up for their wasted time, he went on, “Trump needs his administration in place.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who reportedly backs Grassley on the “blue slip” issue, warned Democrats on Tuesday that they were setting a “dangerous and ugly precedent” with their “historic level of obstruction.”

RELATED: Trump Rips ‘Unconstitutional’ Senate Custom That Allows Democrat ‘SLEAZEBAGS’ To Stall Judicial Noms