President Donald Trump indicated on Aug. 25 that his administration would file lawsuits over California’s redistricting attempt and individual senators’ ability to halt his nominations.
His remarks came as Republicans fought to fill key positions in both Congress and the executive branch.
California, like Texas, has been undergoing a redistricting battle that could determine the balance of power in Congress after the midterm elections next year. The state’s Legislature recently approved placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would redraw California’s federal congressional districts.
“I think I’m going to be filing a lawsuit pretty soon, and I think we’re going to be very successful in it,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “We’re going to be filing it through the Department of Justice. That’s going to happen.”
Republicans in California filed a lawsuit on Aug. 18 alleging that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration was “ramming legislation into law” without following a legally required timetable for review.
Newsom appeared confident in response, posting “BRING IT” on X in response to Trump’s previewing a potential lawsuit.
Newsom signed a legislative package earlier this month that advanced the redistricting amendment. His office described the package as a way of pushing back against what it called Trump’s “power grab in Texas and other Republican-led states.”
In a statement, the governor said, “Californians have been uniquely targeted by the Trump Administration, and thanks to the hard work of the California legislature, they will have a choice to fight back — and bring much needed accountability to Trump’s efforts to undermine the democratic process.”
Trump also said on Aug. 25 that a lawsuit would be coming regarding “blue slipping,” which refers to the practice of allowing senators to block a nominee from their home state.
This became an issue for Alina Habba when Trump sought to place her as U.S. attorney for New Jersey but had to settle for naming her as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
In New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) previously said he would block Trump’s nominees in the southern and eastern districts of his state.
“You know, blue slips make it impossible for me as president to appoint a judge or a US attorney,” Trump said.
His comments came as a federal judge declared Habba’s role as acting U.S. attorney invalid. She had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, but a court attempted to replace her at the end of her term this year. Attorney General Pam Bondi then stepped in to remove that replacement.
In New York, Trump’s nominee for the Southern District had more success. Toward the end of Jay Clayton’s term as interim U.S. attorney, a group of judges allowed him to remain in the position pending the outcome of the nomination process.
In a post to Truth Social on Aug. 24, Trump called out the practice of blue slipping and specifically named House Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
“I have a Constitutional Right to appoint Judges and U.S. Attorneys, but that RIGHT has been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator,” he said.
“This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn.”
Article II of the Constitution says the president “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.” Typically, senators vote on whether to confirm the nominees.
Grassley defended the practice in posts on X, stating that blue-slipping allowed Republicans to block many of President Joe Biden’s nominees.
“A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not [have] the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t [have] the votes to get out of [committee],” he said.
He wrote that he set Trump’s nominees up for “SUCCESS NOT FAILURE.”
As Grassley noted in another X post, Trump eventually withdrew Habba’s nomination. According to the Iowa Republican, his committee “never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination.”
Bill Pan contributed to this report.
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