Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) responded sharply after after President Donald Trump slammed him online, demanding that he scrap a long-standing Senate rule to push through the president’s judicial picks.
Trump took to Truth Social this week, fuming over what’s known as the blue slip tradition — a practice that allows senators to weigh in on federal judges nominated for their home states. Trump called it a “ridiculous custom” and accused Democrats of using it to block his nominees while Republicans “look weak.”
“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… with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump posted. He demanded Grassley “step up” like “Crooked Joe Biden” and “let our Great Republican Judges and U.S. Attorneys BE CONFIRMED.”
Trump didn’t hold back: “He should do this, IMMEDIATELY, and not let the Democrats laugh at him and the Republican Party for being weak and ineffective. Chuck, I know you have the Courage to do this, DO IT!”
Grassley, 91, made it clear the attacks didn’t sit well with him.
“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 said Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. “I was offended by what the President said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”
Grassley emphasized that while the blue slip rule may sound obscure to most Americans, it directly affects who gets to serve as federal judges and U.S. attorneys in their states — and how much input local senators have in that process.
“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 the law and order is enforced,” he said.
Grassley’s spokesperson also defended the senator’s record, pointing out that he’s already pushed through several Trump-backed U.S. attorney picks with support from Democrats like Virginia Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
Despite Trump’s pressure, Grassley made one thing clear: he won’t be changing his position.
“I’ve already spoken about the blue slip problem,” he told Politico. “And I’ve got no more to say than what I’ve been saying for 50 years.”
Read Trump’s full rant and watch Grassley’s response in the video below.
