Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is expressing frustration over one of President Trump’s social media posts.
Trump said a tradition in the senate is keeping him from nominating “Highly Qualified” judges and federal prosecutors. So-called “blue slip” objections let senators block nominees from their home state. Trump said Grassley, as chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, could override those objections with “a mere flick of his pen.”
Grassley responded during a committee meeting. “I was surprised to see President Trump on ‘Truth Social’ go after me and Senate Republicans,” Grassley said.
Trump reposted another person’s comment on Truth Social that referred to Grassley as “sneaky” and a “Republican In Name Only.” And Trump promoted another post that said it was time to “dethrone the kings,” like the 91-year-old Grassley. “I was offended by what the president said and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults,” Grassley said.
Trump, in his own Truth Social post, said he got Grassley re-elected in 2022 by endorsing Grassley when he “was down by a lot.” And Trump said Democrats were laughing at Grassley’s decision to abide by an ancient senate custom. Other Republicans in the senate have joined Grassley in defending it.
“The people in ‘Real America’ don’t care about what the ‘blue slip’ is,” Grassley said, “but in fact it impacts in their states the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. attorneys who ensure the law and order is enforced.”
Last night, a spokesman for Grassley said the input from home state senators is part of what other senators consider when voting on federal district court judges and U.S. Attorneys.