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Durbin obstruction threat chills Senate as Trump nominees hang in balance

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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., used his opening remarks during the Senate’s first judicial nominee hearing of the year on Wednesday to remind his colleagues that he was holding up at least one of President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice nominees.

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«I’ve got a hold on one nominee from Florida,» Durbin said. «I’ve spoken to both Florida senators about it. It isn’t personal. We’ve got to find a way out of this that is fair and bipartisan that we’re going to stick with for both political parties.»

Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is blocking the nomination of Jason Reding Quinones, Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of Florida. Durbin also recently threatened to obstruct more of Trump’s picks to lead the DOJ’s 93 U.S. attorney’s offices.

Durbin’s threat loomed over the committee hearing, which featured five of Trump’s nominees to fill federal judge positions. The Illinois Democrat attributed his blockade to Vice President JD Vance announcing a hold on DOJ nominees in 2023. Vance, then a senator, said he would not lift his hold on nominees until then-Attorney General Merrick Garland stopped «going after his political opponents,» a reference to the two federal prosecutions of Trump.

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SEN. DICK DURBIN: CLOSING FEDERAL OFFICES PUNISHES EVERYDAY AMERICANS

Sen. Dick Durbin speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Any senator has the power to use holds to object to nominations. The practice significantly slows down the confirmation process because it prevents senators from voting for nominees through the typical, expedited unanimous consent process.

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Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, argued Wednesday that, like Durbin, he too disagreed with Vance’s decision, but Grassley said it was notably different than Durbin’s.

«This isn’t what you can legitimately call a precedent for blanket obstruction at the beginning of an administration before even a single one of these 93 U.S. attorneys have been filled,» Grassley said.

Grassley, who himself has hindered nominees in past administrations, said holds should be used «selectively» and quoted Durbin saying last Congress that «public safety will suffer across the United States» if the obstruction of U.S. attorneys is carried out.

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GRASSLEY ALLEGES FBI USED BIASED SOURCES IN ANTI-TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC MEMOS UNDER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Grassley in hallway of Senate

Sen. Chuck Grassley in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 24, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Durbin said Vance changed the rules «overnight.»

«And guess what? The tables turn,» Durbin said. «There comes a time when you want to move these by voice vote, and we’re going to have to say, as Democrats, we’re going to follow the Vance precedent.»

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Durbin, who has an amicable relationship with Grassley, signaled he was willing to come to negotiate with Republicans over the Florida nominee, who has already been favorably reported out of the committee along party lines.

Asked by Fox News Digital what a resolution would look like, a Durbin spokeswoman pointed to the senator’s remarks during the hearing and declined to comment further. 

Durbin’s hold is not the only roadblock for Trump’s nominees. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday from the Senate floor that Republicans wanted to «quietly rubber-stamp» Patrick Davis’ nomination and that he would not allow it.

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DEMS’ ‘DELAY TACTIC’ TO ‘MALIGN’ PATEL AND STALL FBI CONFIRMATION DISMISSED AS ‘BASELESS’ BY TOP SENATE LEADER

Left: Sen. Chuck Schumer' Right: President Donald Trump

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Trump nominated Davis, a former Grassley aide, to serve as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legislative Affairs, who is responsible for handling DOJ’s correspondence with Congress. Schumer said he opposed Davis’ nomination in part because the DOJ has been unresponsive to his inquiries about the controversial luxury plane that Qatar gifted to the Trump administration.

«They won’t even answer serious questions about this. This plane should be withdrawn,» Schumer said.

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He added that when «this Justice Department is as horrible as it is, as political as it is, as destructive of American values as it has been, no way.»

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Grassley responded to Schumer on X: «Why would Democrats expect responsiveness to Congress from DOJ when they obstruct Pres Trump’s nominees who r responsible to ANSWER THEIR LTTRS????»

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The last two Senate-confirmed heads of the Office of Legislative Affairs, during the Biden administration and first Trump administration, were confirmed through the speedy voice vote process.

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Incoming NGA Chair ‘disappointed’ in Dem governors ‘playing politics’ in bipartisan group

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Incoming chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., is «disappointed» that some Democratic governors might stop paying their dues to the bipartisan group. 

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The Atlantic reported ahead of the NGA’s summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., that at least two Democrats, Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Laura Kelly of Kansas, plan to stop paying their dues when asked to renew their membership this month over the NGA’s response to President Donald Trump’s second term. 

«We shouldn’t be playing politics like they do in Washington, D.C.,» Stitt told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the summer meeting. «But sometimes, if you’re a governor running for president or a higher office, you make it political.»

Kelly is chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), the partisan gubernatorial arm that has been vocal in resisting the Trump administration. As Walz weighs a third gubernatorial run, the former vice presidential candidate has remained a leading critic of Trump’s administration since losing the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris last year. 

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TIM WALZ LEADING DEM EFFORT TO TURN BIPARTISAN GROUP AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP: REPORT

Incoming National Governors Association (NGA) chair Gov. Kevin Stitt spoke to Fox News Digital during the NGA summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.  (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)

The Democratic discontent comes as Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado prepares to cede his chairmanship to Stitt, a Republican, at this weekend’s summer meeting. Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., is set to become vice chair. 

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DEMOCRATS FORGE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS AS PARTY FLOUNDERS IN TRUMP’S 2ND TERM

«I would tell anybody, listen, do you want your leaders to take their ball and go home just because they get mad at something? That’s not the way to solve problems,» Stitt said, adding that he likes both Walz and Kelly. 

«Listen, this isn’t the time to take our ball and go home. Let’s sit down and debate what the best policies [are] going forward,» Stitt added. 

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The Oklahoma governor said it can be «frustrating» when Democrats are constantly targeting Trump, but as a business leader, he said there are plenty of instances in which governors can find common ground, including a reduction of the United States’ more than $36 trillion in debt. 

Gov. Jared Polis and Secretary Linda McMahon on stage

National Governors Association (NGA) outgoing chair Gov. Jared Polis discusses American education with Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the NGA Summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday, July 25, 2025.  (Deirdre Heavey – Fox News Digital)

Ahead of the summer meeting, Eric Wohlschlegel, NGA communications director, emphasized the bipartisan nature of the NGA and told Fox News Digital the NGA’s «mission hasn’t changed.»

According to The Atlantic report, Democratic members of the NGA complained the group «did not respond forcefully enough» when the Trump administration paused federal funding early this year, as Gov. Janet Mills of Maine clashed with Trump over biological men playing in women’s sports and, more recently, when Trump authorized the National Guard to California to amid the anti-ICE protests. 

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«Every public statement NGA issues reflects bipartisan consensus. So far this year, all but one statement has had that consensus, and when governors don’t agree, we simply don’t issue one. That’s how we preserve our role as a bipartisan convener, a principle we won’t compromise,» Wohlschlegel explained. 

Thirteen Republican and seven Democratic leaders planned to attend the summer meeting, featuring discussions with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Govs. Polis and Stitt

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, vice chair of the NGA, speaks as chair Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado listens at the National Governors Association (NGA) winter meeting in Washington, D.C. (Fox News/Charlie Creitz)

A source familiar with the situation blamed the controversy on «Democratic infighting, unspoken campaign jockeying and a few anonymous voices looking to reshape a nonpartisan institution into a political one.»

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The source added that «no governors are on the record expressing discontent with the NGA. No allegations of misconduct, governance failure or mismanagement have been raised.»

And without addressing the controversy directly, Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Polis, told Fox News Digital the governor «has been honored» to lead the NGA and to «work across the aisle with governors on education, permitting reform, standing up to federal efforts to strip away gubernatorial authority around the National Guard and elevating the priorities of states.»

He added that «during this polarizing time, bipartisan organizations are needed more than ever, and NGA must continue to demonstrate value to all governors and effectively communicate governors’ opinions on various matters with the public and the federal government.» 

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Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt, told Fox News Digital ahead of the NGA that «people seem to forget NGA is a bipartisan organization, not a political one.»

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz and Kelly for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

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Una muestra en Barcelona revela la infancia de Claude y Paloma Picasso junto a sus padres artistas

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“No es fácil ser hija de Pablo Picasso, pero tampoco de François Gilot“, confesó Paloma Picasso (Crédito: Fotonoticias / WireImage)

“No es fácil ser hija de Pablo Picasso, pero tampoco de François Gilot“, ha confesado Paloma Picasso en la presentación de la exposición Crecer entre dos artistas, con el que el Museo Picasso de Barcelona rinde homenaje a su hermano Claude.

Calificada por el director del museo y cocomisario, Emmanuel Guigon, como “sensible, emocionante y poética”, la exposición se podrá ver desde mañana viernes hasta el próximo 26 de octubre, y el público podrá seguir un viaje emotivo por la infancia de Claude y Paloma Picasso junto a sus padres, en Vallauris, en el sur de Francia, adonde se trasladaron tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

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Impulsada por la propia Paloma Picasso, la muestra reúne cerca de un centenar de obras icónicas, y muchas de ellas inéditas como La Guenon et son petit, entre pinturas, cerámicas, juguetes y fotografías familiares, así como correspondencia, que ofrecen “una mirada íntima y excepcional a la vida familiar del artista”, remarca Guigon.

Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso

Las obras de la exposición, que ha contado con el apoyo de toda la familia Picasso, transmiten, según Guigon, “la felicidad de la vida familiar, y al mismo tiempo una vida centrada en el trabajo”, porque, como ha precisado Paloma, sus padres eran “por encima de artistas, dos trabajadores”.

Comienza la exposición con los retratos de los cuatro integrantes de la familia, convertidos en sombras chinas, pero que “también se podría interpretar como las figuras de las cerámicas griegas”, anota el director del museo barcelonés.

En una segunda sala hay retratos de la familia, algunos inéditos como un retrato de Françoise Gilot de 1946 (Mujer joven sentada), cuadros en los que se ve a los niños jugando, muchos recortes de papel convertidos en pequeños objetos para jugar, fuera un mosquetero, un autobús o un “arlequín dislocado”.

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En este mismo espacio se encuentra la escultura La mona y su cría (1951) y los dibujos preparatorios, que muestran el proceso seguido por Picasso para convertir en una mona unos cochecitos que le había regalado Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler a Claude y que el artista ‘robó’ a su hijo.

Françoise Gilot y Pablo Picasso
Françoise Gilot y Pablo Picasso (Crédito: Bettmann Archive)

“Esta escultura es la demostración de que Picasso, más que un genio, es humano, porque decir que es un genio es como si su creatividad le hubiera caído del cielo, y detrás de cada obra había mucho trabajo, como se ve en los dibujos en los que esos coches de Claude se convirtieron en una mona», ha señalado Guigon.

En el ecuador del recorrido, se pueden contemplar, por primera vez en España, algunas de las obras de Gilot, centradas en Claude y Paloma y la vida familiar en Vallauris, en la casa de La Galloise.

Se trata de una obra muy influenciada por Picasso, como se puede comprobar en óleos como Claude y Paloma jugando con una pelota (1953), Mis hijos jugando (1952), Claude a caballo sobre un juguete (1952), La lección de lectura o La mesa del jardín con Claude, éstas sin fecha.

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“La lección de lectura” de
“La lección de lectura” de Picasso

Al final de la exposición, se exhiben algunas cerámicas picassianas con Claude como protagonista, una filmación en la que se puede ver al artista transformar un vaso en una paloma, así como la película que el propio Claude dirigió con Thierry Spitzer un año después de la muerte del malagueño, Atelier 74, que documenta el estado del taller de La Californie, prácticamente intacto desde que Picasso lo abandonó en 1961 para instalarse en Mougins.

Paloma Picasso ha destacado que “en aquel ambiente familiar no había diferencia entre las obras importantes y los juguetes que hacía Picasso“, como unas muñecas que creó con la cara de su hija, que “apenas las hizo -ha recordado- me las quitó, así es la vida”.

No ha ocultado también su satisfacción de que se pueda ver en Barcelona la obra de su madre, algo que frustró la pandemia.

“Claude a caballo sobre un
“Claude a caballo sobre un juguete” (1952) de Picasso

Sobre la relación con dos padres artistas, Paloma Picasso ha comentado: “Mi padre vivía y compartía cosas con nosotros, ponía su vida como ejemplo, y mi madre, con un pensamiento más intelectual, expresaba su temor de que acabáramos odiando el arte, porque era el arte el que nos robaba tiempo con nuestros padres; pero vivir en un ambiente tan creativo es lo mejor para un niño”.

Ha asegurado que no tiene muchos recuerdos de sus padres juntos, pues cuando se separaron ella tenía cuatro años, pero “lo hicieron bien, porque ninguno de los dos hablaba mal del otro”.

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De ambos heredó la idea de “no conformarse con lo que sabes hacer, sino ir más allá” y fue así como se acabó dedicando al diseño de joyas.

Fuente: EFE



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FTC firings take spotlight in Trump’s fight to erase independence of agencies

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The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire numerous Democrat-appointed members of independent agencies, but one case still moving through the legal system carries the greatest implications yet for a president’s authority to do that.

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In Slaughter v. Trump, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to fight what she calls her «illegal firing,» setting up a possible scenario in which the case lands before the Supreme Court.

The case would pose the most direct question yet to the justices about where they stand on Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the nearly century-old decision regarding a president’s power over independent regulatory agencies.

John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital he thinks the high court is likely to side with the president if and when the case arrives there.

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SUPREME COURT SAYS TRUMP CAN PROCEED WITH FIRING DEMOCRAT-APPOINTED CPSC MEMBERS

The Supreme Court is photographed, Feb. 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

«I think it’s unlikely that Humphrey’s Executor survives the Supreme Court, at least in its current form,» Shu said, adding he anticipates the landmark decision will be overturned or «severely narrowed.»

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What is Humphrey’s Executor?

Humphrey’s Executor centered on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to fire an FTC commissioner with whom he disagreed politically. The case marked the first instance of the Supreme Court limiting a president’s removal power by ruling that Roosevelt overstepped his authority. The court found that presidents could not dismiss FTC commissioners without a reason, such as malfeasance, before their seven-year terms ended, as outlined by Congress in the FTC Act.

However, the FTC’s functions, which largely center on combating anticompetitive business practices, have expanded in the 90 years since Humphrey’s Executor.

«The Federal Trade Commission of 1935 is a lot different than the Federal Trade Commission today,» Shu said.

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He noted that today’s FTC can open investigations, issue subpoenas, bring lawsuits, impose financial penalties and more. The FTC now has executive, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, Shu said.

SCOTUS greenlights other firings

If the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily allow two labor board members’ firings is any indication, the high court stands ready to make the FTC less independent and more accountable to Trump.

In a 6-3 order, the Supreme Court cited the «considerable executive power» that the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board have, saying a president «may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf.»

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TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FINDS FAVOR WITH SUPREME COURT

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS)

The order did not mention Humphrey’s Executor, but that and other moves indicate the Supreme Court has been chipping away at the 90-year-old ruling and is open to reversing it.

The case of Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya gets closest to the heart of Humphrey’s Executor.

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Where does Slaughter’s case stand?

Slaughter enjoyed a short-lived victory when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that Trump violated the Constitution and ruled in her favor on July 17.

She was able to return to the FTC for a few days, but the Trump administration appealed the decision and, on July 21, the appellate court paused the lower court judge’s ruling.

Judge Loren AliKhan had said in her summary judgment that Slaughter’s case was almost identical to William Humphrey’s.

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SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS

Slaughter of the FTC at hearing

Rebecca Slaughter, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«It is not the role of this court to decide the correctness, prudence, or wisdom of the Supreme Court’s decisions—even one from ninety years ago,» AliKhan, a Biden appointee, wrote. «Whatever the Humphrey’s Executor Court may have thought at the time of that decision, this court will not second-guess it now.»

The lawsuit arose from Trump firing Slaughter and Bedoya, the two Democratic-appointed members of the five-member commission. They alleged that Trump defied Humphrey’s Executor by firing them in March without cause in a letter that «nearly word-for-word» mirrored the one Roosevelt sent a century ago.

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Bedoya has since resigned, but Slaughter is not backing down from a legal fight in which Trump appears to have the upper hand.

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«Like dozens of other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission has been protected from presidential politics for nearly a century,» Slaughter said in a statement after she was re-fired. «I’ll continue to fight my illegal firing and see this case through, because part of why Congress created independent agencies is to ensure transparency and accountability.»

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Now a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee is considering a longer-term pause and asked for court filings to be submitted by July 29, meaning the judges could issue their decision soon thereafter.

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