INTERNACIONAL
Trump nominees squeezed between ‘blue slips’ and blue obstruction
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President Donald Trump has attacked the Senate for blocking his preferred nominees from being confirmed to key positions, but lawmakers and people familiar with the process say the Senate is not necessarily to blame.
Trump has faulted the Senate’s «blue slip» tradition, an unwritten rule requiring nominees for judge, U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal to obtain home state senators’ approval prior to being confirmed.
He said blue state senators will only greenlight «Democrats or maybe weak Republicans.» The president called on Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to abolish the practice, and he threatened to sue over it.
But Grassley and other Republicans are unbudging in their position that blue slips are an indispensable part of the confirmation process. Blue slips have been used for more than a century. Past presidents have gotten many nominees confirmed under the system, suggesting other factors are contributing to Trump’s struggle to secure blue slips from Democrats.
TRUMP TELLS GRASSLEY TO TELL DEMOCRATS ‘GO TO HELL’ OVER BLOCKED JUDICIAL NOMINEES IN SENATE
Sen. Chuck Grassley is seen in the U.S. Capitol after a Senate luncheon. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Trump threatens to sue over ‘gentlemen’s agreement’
Trump and his allies escalated attacks on the blue slip process this week, accusing Grassley of blocking nominees by maintaining it.
«This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn,» Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president threatened to sue over what he said was a «gentlemen’s agreement,» though it is unclear whom the government would sue and on what grounds.
«It’s not based on law, and I think it’s unconstitutional, and I’ll probably be filing a suit on that pretty soon,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Asked about the possible lawsuit and why Trump’s nominees in blue states are struggling with confirmation, the White House told Fox News Digital in a statement the holdup must be addressed.
«Senate Democrats have led a campaign of historic obstruction against President Trump and his nominees,» White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. «The left’s partisan, obstructionist agenda is only hurting the American people and it must end.»
‘Troubling’ pattern of circumventing Senate
Trump appointed his former personal defense lawyer Alina Habba as «interim» U.S. attorney, which carries a 120-day term limit that federal judges have the ability to extend under federal vacancy laws if no one has been confirmed by the Senate to the position by then.
Judges have opted to extend Trump’s nominees, like in Jay Clayton’s case in the Southern District of New York. But in an unusual move, the federal judges of New Jersey rejected Habba.
The judges selected someone else, whom Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi promptly fired. Trump and Bondi then used a series of legal maneuvers to reinstall Habba to another temporary term, but a federal judge ruled the moves unconstitutional. The Trump administration is appealing that decision in a case that could now make its way to the Supreme Court and force the justices to weigh in on what has become a pattern of Trump end-running around the Senate.
ALINA HABBA SAYS SHE ‘WON’T BE INTIMIDATED’ AFTER SENATE CUSTOM HINDERS US ATTORNEY NOMINATION
Alina Habba speaks to members of the media outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 24, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
John Sarcone in the Northern District of New York faced a situation similar to Habba’s, and he is now serving as «acting» U.S. attorney. Bill Essayli in the Central District of California, who has taken on a vocal pro-Trump stance amid high-profile deportation cases in his district, has also transitioned from «interim» to «acting» U.S. attorney. Acting U.S. attorneys also carry a temporary term of 210 days. It is unclear how Trump will proceed once those terms expire.
Carl Tobias, University of Richmond law professor, said the workarounds defy the spirit of the Constitution, which says nominees must be confirmed «with the advice and consent» of the Senate.
«It’s good to have that scrutiny from the Judiciary Committee and then on the floor, and so hopefully they could return to something like that, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen, and so I think it is troubling,» Tobias told Fox News Digital.
How to get a blue slip from the other party
The administration must engage with the Senate during the nomination process, including by consulting early on with home state senators about possible nominees.
Former President Joe Biden secured blue slips from opposing parties for 49 nominees, including 27 U.S. attorneys, while Trump’s first administration was able to secure confirmations for nearly all the U.S. attorneys the president nominated.
The blue slip, to senators, is a crucial negotiating tool, one that Article III Project founder Mike Davis said is not going away, despite Trump’s intensifying objections to it. Davis, a staunch Trump supporter, served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and oversaw nominations under Grassley in the prior Trump administration.
«It’s not going away. Why would it? Why would senators give up their power? They’re not going to do it,» Davis told Fox News Digital, adding that blue slips to the Senate are «the sacred china that’s never going to get broken.»
Habba has blamed Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., (not pictured) for refusing to give blue slip approval to her nomination to (Fox News)
The vetting process
Nominees must also provide the Senate Judiciary Committee with a questionnaire, an FBI background check and financial disclosures. A source familiar with the process told Fox News Digital the committee did not receive Habba’s paperwork to begin vetting her.
Habba has said she could not begin the process because Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey, would not give blue slip approval. It is unclear if and when the Trump administration approached the pair of senators about Habba.
Habba, like Trump, blamed Grassley.
«The blue slip TRADITION prevents a nominee from getting to the point of making that case to the committee and Senate floor. You know who can get rid of it? YOU @ChuckGrassley,» Habba wrote on X.
She told Grassley «this is a time for leadership, not deflection» and that the chairman should not be «doing the dirty work of Thom Tillis, Corey Booker and Andy Kim.»
Booker’s and Kim’s offices did not respond to a request for comment.
Grassley defends bipartisanship
Grassley went on a tear on social media this week, defending his decision to maintain blue slips, which the committee chair has discretion over.
«U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not hv the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t hv the votes to get out of cmte,» the 91-year-old senator wrote. «As chairman I set Pres Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE.»
GRASSLEY REBUKES TRUMP’S PRESSURE TO ‘HAVE THE COURAGE’ TO SPEED UP NOMINATIONS
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is among several Republicans who will not vote for a nominee who has not been approved by home state senators, pointed to a statement on social media when asked for comment by Fox News Digital.
«Chairman Grassley is a principled conservative who wants to keep radical liberals off the bench. Getting rid of the blue slip is a terrible, short-sighted ploy that paves the path for Democrats to ram through extremist liberal judges in red states over the long-term,» Tillis wrote on X.
Are Democrats to blame?
Trump has thus far secured opposing party blue slips for four nominees. Davis said Trump is facing a unique level of obstruction from Democrats.
«Every White House does what it can to engage the opposition party, but Democrats have made it clear they’re not interested in working with President Trump, so it’s understandable that his focus has been elsewhere for now,» Davis said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for instance, has refused to give a blue slip to Clayton, the former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman. But Clayton’s ability to win the vote of the federal judges in the Southern District of New York has allowed him to serve as U.S. attorney without confirmation.
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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member, has further complicated the confirmation process by putting a hold on U.S. attorney nominees, which drastically slows, but does not fully block, the process.
Vice President J.D. Vance, then a senator, did the same for Biden’s nominees toward the end of the last administration.
Trump’s fight with the upper chamber is likely to evolve, especially as higher courts weigh in on Habba’s nomination, which is currently invalid, according to the district court judge’s decision this month. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has set a briefing schedule in the case that stretches through October, but eventually the Supreme Court could also chime in on whether Trump’s manner of sidestepping the Senate is constitutional.
senate,judiciary,chuck grassley,politics,democrats senate,republicans
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The 2025 off-year election cycle has come to a close, with Democrats emerging victorious in a handful of high-profile elections.
The election season was much more muted compared to 2024’s wild federal election that delivered President Donald Trump a victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, with 2025 spotlighting the mayoral election in New York City, and a pair of gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey.
Fox News Digital compiled Election Day 2025’s biggest winners and losers following months of campaigning on top voter concerns, namely affordability and the economy.
WHAT THE RESULTS OF THE 2025 ELECTIONS MAY MEAN FOR DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS
Former President Barack Obama during a campaign event for Representative Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey, not pictured, in Newark, New Jersey, US, on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
WINNERS
Democrat bench
Following 2024’s federal election that left the Democratic Party working to find its footing after Harris’ loss, Democrats now have New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill and former Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger ascending as the top leaders of their respective states, broadening the party’s pool of leaders with new roles.
New Jersey Democrats were on the edge of their seats in the deep blue state after Trump made inroads with voters during the 2024 election, teeing up what Republicans saw as the opening to potentially flipping the state. Democrats, however, held their ground in the historically blue state with New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeating Trump-backed Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
«This was a tough fight and this is a tough state,» Sherrill said in her victory speech. «But I know you, New Jersey. I have fought for you. I’ve spoken with thousands of you over this last year. I know your struggles, your hopes, and your dreams.»
Spanberger notched a victory over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears just roughly an hour after polls closed in the Old Dominion State.
«We sent a message to every corner of the commonwealth,» Spanberger said in her acceptance speech. «A message to our neighbors and our fellow Americans across the country. We sent a message to the whole world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose our commonwealth over chaos. You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most: lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy.»
THE TRUE COST OF THE 2025 ELECTIONS
Upon her inauguration in January, Spanberger will become the first female governor of Virginia.
The pair were viewed as potential new leaders of the Democratic Party as they worked to secure their gubernatorial wins. Now, they will head to their respective state Capitols armed with years of Congressional know-how and an opportunity to better cement their leadership within the party.
Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani with Rev. Al Sharpton at the National Action Network’s House of Justice in Harlem, New York, Nov. 1, 2025. (Ryan Murphy/Reuters)
Progressive socialists
Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who ran as a Democrat, secured his win as the Big Apple’s next mayor in an election expected to deliver him favorable results as he ran against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who was forced to run as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June — and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
«My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,» Mamdani said in his victory speech.
«New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,» he added. «A mandate for a new kind of politics. A mandate for a city we can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.»
MEET THE CANDIDATES AIMING TO MAKE HISTORY IN THE 2025 ELECTIONS
The election notched a massive win for the left-wing faction of the Democratic Party. Mamdani was a relatively unknown state assembly member and democratic socialist who ascended the political ladder amid his primary campaign. He championed progressive plans for the city, such as freezing stabilized rents, increasing the city’s minimum wage and canceling fares for bus rides.
The race earned national coverage as conservatives slammed the socialist candidate as a threat to the city’s massive economy and status as America’s de facto symbol of capitalism, and warned he holds antisemitic views in a city with a massive Jewish population.
Other socialist candidates also have made big waves this cycle, including in Minneapolis where left-wing candidate Omar Fateh who has been described as the «Mamdani of Minneapolis.» The mayor’s race advanced to ranked choice voting on Tuesday after none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote.
Minneapolis allows voters to rank up to three candidates in its municipal races. Incumbent Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey and Fateh received the most first-choice results, Fox News reported.
President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House en route to Florida, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press )
Donald Trump
Long before Election Day, President Donald Trump made clear he was no fan of New York City’s Mamdani, teeing up an expected political battle between the pair for the forseeable future.
Trump is famous for his long-running political spats with Democrat foes, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Sen. Adam Schiff, frequently spotlighting the opponents as examples as to why Democrat policies fail while championing his MAGA approach.
Now, Trump has who likely will be another longstanding political foe as he continues his ongoing campaign against socialism and antisemitism.
«Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,» Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. «We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.»
«Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!» the president claimed in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
Mamdani is Muslim and has been accused of holding antisemitic views, including for declining to condemn the phrase «globalize the intifada.» The democratic socialist, however, has denied the claims and vowed to «do everything in my power to protect Jewish New Yorkers.»
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ELECTION DAY 2025: CRITICAL ELECTIONS, BALLOT MEASURES AND MORE
New Jersey Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears were the only GOP gubernatorial candidates running in the 2025 off-season election. (Getty Images)
LOSERS
Republican candidates
Republican candidates across the board in the handful of high-profile elections failed to rally enough support for their tickets, handing Democrats massive wins from the Virginia attorney general race to the party retaining control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The election cycle focused on the New York City mayoral race, and the pair of gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, where Democrats celebrated victories long before the clock struck midnight on Election Day.
Republicans, however, failed to rally support in a handful of other state elections, including three Democratic justices on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court defending their jobs from challengers. Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares also failed to retain his seat against Jay Jones, who was mired in controversy after text messages showed him envisioning the murder of a former Republican leader.
TRUMP’S SHADOW LOOMS LARGE OVER HEATED RACES ONE MONTH BEFORE ELECTION DAY
In California, Newsom and Democrats passed a ballot initiative to redraw the state’s congressional lines, which could flip up to five Republican seats blue in the liberal state.
Newsom launched the redistricting effort, Proposition 50, earlier in 2025 to counter the Trump administration’s promotion that Republicans in states such as Texas redistrict their own lines.
Ahead of Mamdani’s election Tuesday, business owners and conservative political leaders sounded off with concern that the democratic socialist’s policies could cripple the city’s economy. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
New York City business owners
Ahead of Mamdani’s election Tuesday, business owners and conservative political leaders sounded off with concern that the democratic socialist’s policies could cripple the city’s economy and spark businesses to flee.
«We will lose businesses in droves,» Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said in July of Mamdani’s candidacy. «You got NASDAQ, you got Wall Street. They could work anywhere. They could work in Jersey, they could work in Connecticut. They don’t need to be in Lower Manhattan.»
Mamdani campaigned on proposals to raise the corporate tax rate, shift more of the tax burden to «richer and whiter neighborhoods» and add a flat 2% income tax on earners making over $1 million to pay for other programs that will fund other «free» services for the residents.
Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler added that the city is already strained by inflation, high taxes and regulation, and that the election of a socialist could cripple businesses.
«New York is the capital of capitalism and small businesses,» Loeffler told Fox Digital in September.
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«Small businesses are very concerned about what might be coming down the road, particularly as they hear threats of socialist policies, government takeover of industries, rising regulation, rising taxes, a minimum wage that may skyrocket to $30 an hour and cost thousands of jobs,» she said, adding that New York City businesses have already witnessed an «eroding customer base.»
Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias, Alec Schemmel and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
politics,2020 presidential election,new york city,2025 2026 elections coverage
Casos
Murió Dick Cheney, el poderoso exvicepresidente de George W. Bush y uno de los artífices de la guerra de Estados Unidos con Irak.
Cheney, de 84 años, murió este martes a causa de una neumonía y luego de sufrir complicaciones con enfermedades cardíacas que padecía hace tiempo.
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Conocido por su gran influencia en la política interna de Estados Unidos, se consagró como el 46° vicepresidente estadounidense en 2001 y acompañó a Bush en sus dos mandatos.
Si bien su carrera política comenzó casi dos décadas antes, el camino de Cheney dentro de la Casa Blanca inició en 1989, cuando fue nombrado secretario de Defensa por George Bush padre.
Bajo ese rol es que dirigió el Pentágono durante la guerra del Golfo de 1990-91, donde el ejército estadounidense expulsó a las tropas de Irak de Kuwait.
Cuando Bush hijo comenzó su carrera presidencial, buscó su ayuda para encontrar un candidato a la vicepresidencia. Luego de algunos vaivenes, George W. Bush se inclinó por Cheney como compañero de fórmula. ARCHIVO – El ex vicepresidente de Estados Unidos Dick Cheney se dirige a un mitin de campaña para Gus Bilirakis, un republicano que se presenta por el distrito de Tampa Bay que deja su padre en Tampa, Florida, el 21 de julio de 2006. (AP Foto/Steve Nesius, Archivo)
Desde el principio de ese mandato, Cheney y Bush hicieron un pacto tácito en el que el flamante vicepresidente dejaría de lado las ambiciones por ser el jefe de la Casa Blanca, y, en paralelo, mantenía un poder comparable en algunos aspectos al de la presidencia misma.
En el Capitolio, Cheney trabajó por los proyectos del presidente en los pasillos que había recorrido como congresista conservador y como el número dos de la Cámara de Representantes.
Durante su tiempo en el cargo, la vicepresidencia dejó de ser un puesto ceremonial. Lo convirtió en una red de canales secundarios desde los cuales podía influir en la política sobre Irak, el terrorismo, los poderes presidenciales, la energía y otros pilares de una agenda conservadora.
Durante los meses posteriores al atentado a las Torres Gemelas, Cheney operó desde ubicaciones no reveladas, separado de Bush para asegurar que uno u otro sobreviviera a cualquier ataque posterior contra el liderazgo del país.
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Con Bush fuera de la ciudad en ese fatídico día, Cheney fue una presencia constante en la Casa Blanca, al menos hasta que los agentes del Servicio Secreto se lo llevaron.
Pero bien entrado el segundo mandato de Bush, la influencia de Cheney disminuyó, cercada por los tribunales o las realidades políticas cambiantes.
Años después de dejar el cargo, se convirtió en un objetivo del presidente Donald Trump, especialmente después de que su hija, Liz Cheney, se alzara como la principal crítica y examinadora republicana de los desesperados intentos de Trump por mantenerse en el poder después de su derrota electoral y sus acciones en el motín del 6 de enero de 2021 en el Capitolio.
En un anuncio televisivo para su hija, Cheney afirmó que “en los 246 años de historia de nuestra nación, nunca ha habido un individuo que representara una mayor amenaza» para la república “que Donald Trump”.
FILE PHOTO: Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush waves with his newly named vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney as they left Casper, Wyoming July 26, 2000. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo
También dijo que Trump “intentó robar la última elección usando mentiras y violencia para mantenerse en el poder después de que los votantes lo rechazaran” y que era “un cobarde”.
En un giro que los demócratas de su época nunca podrían haber imaginado, Dick Cheney dijo el año pasado que votaría por su candidata, Kamala Harris, en las elecciones presidenciales contra Trump.
Sobreviviente de cinco ataques cardíacos, Cheney pensó durante mucho tiempo que vivía con tiempo prestado y declaró en 2013 que ahora se despertaba cada mañana “con una sonrisa en mi rostro, agradecido por el regalo de otro día”, una imagen extraña para una figura que siempre parecía estar en las barricadas.
Tiempo antes reveló que había desactivado la función inalámbrica de su desfibrilador por temor a que los terroristas enviaran remotamente a su corazón una descarga fatal.
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“Durante décadas, Dick Cheney sirvió a nuestra nación, desempeñando cargos como Jefe de Gabinete de la Casa Blanca, Congresista por Wyoming, Secretario de Defensa y Vicepresidente de los Estados Unidos”, señaló un comunicado de su familia.
En el mismo, sus familiares agregaron: “Dick Cheney fue un gran hombre que enseñó a sus hijos y nietos a amar a nuestro país y a vivir con valentía, honor, amor, bondad y a disfrutar de la pesca con mosca”.
“Le estamos profundamente agradecidos por todo lo que hizo por nuestra nación. Y nos sentimos inmensamente afortunados de haber amado y haber sido amados por este noble e imponente hombre”, cerraron.
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