Senate Democrats successfully ended the filibuster on judicial nominations, but that alone won’t stop rampant GOP obstruction. The next tactic Republicans can turn to is the arcane procedure of “blue slips.” When the president nominates a judge from a particular state, the Senate Judiciary Committee sends a “blue slip” to the state’s two senators—asking for their opinion. If one or both senators do not approve, it effectively kills the nomination by blocking a hearing. Blue slips are neither in the Constitution nor even an official rule of the Senate. This is a tradition the Senate Judiciary Chair can do away with at any time, as Republicans frequently did when they last controlled both the Senate and the White House. Our federal judiciary is in crisis, and most court vacancies President Obama must fill are from red states—including seven in Texas alone. We cannot give Ted Cruz veto power over judicial nominees. Tell Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy: It’s time to end the “blue slips.”
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 22:44:14 +0000
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