Federal Judiciary and Courts

Senate Republicans have confirmed six more of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees in the past week, bringing the total to 33 judges approved in his second term—far ahead of his first‑term pace but still short of the 42 judges confirmed in President Biden’s first year. Even as Trump urges them to 'get rid of blue slips' so Democrats can’t stall U.S. attorney and district‑court picks, key Republicans including Sen. Thom Tillis and Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley are resisting scrapping the century‑old tradition that lets home‑state senators effectively veto nominees. Grassley has already weakened blue slips once, in 2017, by exempting circuit‑court nominees, which helped Republicans push through more appellate judges in Trump’s first term. The article notes Trump’s frustration after blue slips helped derail district‑court nominations of Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan, but for now GOP leaders argue they will someday need the same tool when they return to the minority. The internal fight highlights a core tension between Trump’s push for maximum speed in reshaping the courts and Senate Republicans’ desire to preserve a procedural power they know Democrats would be reluctant to restore if it’s destroyed now.