Schumer blocks Trump’s top prosecutor picks for New York – Washington Examiner
Senator Chuck schumer (D-NY) has decided to block the nominations of U.S. attorneys Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York and Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York, reflecting his ongoing opposition to President Donald Trump. Schumer’s refusal to return “blue slip” consent forms is a strategic move to assert a more aggressive stance against Trump, whom he accuses of politicizing the Justice Department to target perceived enemies. The blue slip process traditionally gives home-state senators the power to approve or disapprove of judicial nominees,a practice that has been intermittently upheld or disregarded by various parties over the years. Schumer’s action comes amid increased political pressure on Democrats to mount a stronger resistance to Trump’s agenda. The White House has not commented on this progress.
Schumer blocks Trump’s top prosecutor picks for New York
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is vetoing U.S. attorney nominations in two of the country’s most high-profile districts. This is the minority leader’s latest effort to take a harder line on President Donald Trump.
Schumer revealed he would not return so-called “blue slip” consent forms for Jay Clayton, nominated for the Southern District of New York, including Manhattan, and Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York, which is Brooklyn-based and encompasses Long Island.
Blue slips are a long-standing Senate tradition requiring presidents to earn the approval of both home-state senators.
“Donald Trump has made clear he has no fidelity to the law and intends to use the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney offices, and law enforcement as weapons to go after his perceived enemies,” Schumer said in a statement.
He continued: “Such blatant and depraved political motivations are deeply corrosive to the rule of law and leaves me deeply skeptical of the Donald Trump’s intentions for these important positions. For that reason, I will not return the blue slip for the U.S. Attorney nominees for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.”
The move by Schumer comes amid intense political pressure from Democrats to combat Trump more forcefully and as the party searches for new avenues to stonewall his agenda.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The blue slip process affords power to the minority party or any one senator opposed to a president’s picks for prosecutor or circuit court judges. It’s been widely used over the past century by senators from both parties, including sometimes against an administration of a lawmaker’s own party.
However, it’s simply a tradition honored by the Judiciary Committee. In 2017, during Trump’s first term, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) scrapped the blue-slip tradition for circuit court nominees to overcome Democrats’ effective vetoes. It was not restored by Democrats when they took the majority in 2021.
A spokesperson for Grassley, who again chairs the Judiciary panel under the new Republican majority, said the committee “has long honored the traditional blue slip process for U.S. Attorney nominees.”
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Clayton was chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Trump’s first term and is currently a senior policy adviser at the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm.
Nocella was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1991 to 1995 and is currently a Nassau County District Court judge.
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