Posted on 10/11/2017 1:56:19 PM PDT by cotton1706
The GOP leader may not personally be a fan of blue slips, but hes not getting rid of them, says his spokesman.
WASHINGTON ― Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will continue to honor the blue slip rule ― an arcane but hugely consequential Senate tradition that lets lawmakers block a presidents judicial nominees from their home states ― even though a news article suggested he would get rid of it, his spokesman said.
The Weekly Standard reported Wednesday that McConnell said in an interview that Democrats would no longer be allowed to use the rule to deny some of President Donald Trumps judicial nominees a committee hearing or a vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee currently requires both home-state senators of a judicial nominee to turn in a blue slip ― literally, a blue piece of paper ― to signal support for moving forward with the nominee. Without blue slips from both senators, the nominee wont get a hearing and the nomination is effectively dead. Blue slips amount to giving a single senator veto power over a presidents court pick.
In his interview, McConnell said that, from now on, Republicans will treat a blue slip as simply notification of how youre going to vote, not as an opportunity to blackball.
The articles author, Fred Barnes, wrote that that means the blue slip rule now wont be honored at all. But McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said McConnell was talking about his own view on blue slips, and was not saying that Republicans wont uphold the rule anymore.
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
We need new Republicans.
The ones we have are more concerned about citizens of other countries who broke into our country and are robbing us blind.
Alexander, Corker, Flake, Graham, Hatch, Heller, Hoeven, Murkowsky, McCain, Rubio, Gardner, Burr, Tillis, Portman, McConnell, Thune, Cornyn, Cochran, Isackson, Blunt, Johnson, Toomey, Capito, Rounds, Fischer, Collins, Wicker, Sasse, Ernst, Young, Boozman and Shelby are all undocumented Democrats in R jerseys.
The next time the ‘rats hold the Senate and the White House, out the window it goes.
Detestable POS is probably being too kind.
The Swamp Turtle remains loyal to the Swamp.
It is the Huff Poop. Is it reliable to believe them>
Huffpo disinformation. It is not in the Senate rules. It’s an informal custom from the past when Americans (and Senators) had shared values.
I understood earlier today he was doing away with the blue slips, or at least reducing their effectiveness, so they couldn’t block Trump judges.
So which is it?
One useless Senate leader after another.
Right from the Trent Lott manual.
McConnell will hide behind Chuck Grassley’s skirt.
McConnell has to be voted OUT! ASAP!!!
he’s just awful!
Looks like it.
Man what a clown car we are driving to nowhere!
McConnell knows that conservative judges are his ONLY means to mollify conservatives, for he knows that we know that he’s a fraud. So like everything else, he wants to pretend that he’s for something, while instituting the opposite.
Vote FOR cloture, but AGAINST the bill. Same thing, allow what you don’t want to move forward, while pretending to be against it. Same with judicial confirmations in reverse. He wants to convince conservatives that he’s for confirming more nominations, while Chuck Grassley in the background keeps the blue-slip procedure. And Mitch will say “wasn’t me, it was him. I was for getting rid of it.”
But we’re on to the game.
I know what you mean.
And yep, we’re following the guy closely.
Reports indicate that this was true only until 2003. Since 2003, one positive blue slip will move the nominee forward.
-PJ
This just shows how completely out of touch with reality Fred Barnes is.
What idiot would believe for even one minute that the Turtle would do ANYTHING to help Trump’s agenda?
What do you mean, next time? They have it now, and always will as long as lying PsOS like McConnell are there.
You make the mistake of believing that McConnell has no interest in a conservative Republican judiciary
Your assumption there are no commonality between Trump and McConnell is a fallacious joke
thought it was good news when I heard it earlier. Looks like you have to double and triple check with these cowards. Get rid of this guy!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.