Democrats are about to kill a tradition in the US Senate in order to get Biden more judicial nominees.
This tradition is known as the “blue slip” tradition and it’s basically a courtesy sent to the Senators of a state where a judicial nominee is being considered.
If the “blue slip” is returned with a positive response, that’s considered a go-ahead to move forward with the nomination. If it’s sent back with a negative response, that could doom a nomination.
Here’s more from Newsmax:
Even as Democrats celebrated the 100th judicial confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidency, they are clamoring for more — and some are flirting with ending a century-long Senate practice to help make it happen.
The rising friction over what in Washington parlance is known as the “blue slip” is creating tensions on the Senate panel that handles judicial nominations and prompting stern warnings from Republicans about a dangerous escalation in the partisanship that already dominates the judicial confirmation process.
Since at least 1917, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has sent a blue-colored form, or “blue slip,” to the senators representing the home state of a judicial nominee. A blue slip returned with a positive response signals the senator’s approval of moving forward with a nomination hearing. But if the blue slip is not returned or comes back with a negative response, that means the home state senator objects, which can doom the nomination.
The article claims that during Trump’s presidency, Republicans ignored blue slips around 17 times. Thus, some Democrats want to do away with it altogether.
Senator Dick Durbin is the chairman of the Judicial Committee and he’s the one who would do away with the “blue slip” courtesy.
But, according to the article, Durbin wants to keep the courtesy so long as the blue slips aren’t used for what he calls “discriminatory purposes” to block a nominee.
If this remains his decision, you can be sure this caveat will be exploited early and often to push judicial nominees through. And this caveat will likely be used as the rationale to kill it altogether. Because that’s just what Democrats do…