Trump’s Judge Plot Hits Major Obstacle

Detailed summary

Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are using their influence on the Senate Judiciary Committee to block or delay Trump’s nominees, arguing that the White…

President Donald Trump’s push to install conservative judges is running into resistance from an unlikely source: his own Republican senators.

Outgoing Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are using their influence on the Senate Judiciary Committee to block or delay Trump’s nominees, arguing that the White House has bypassed home-state senators in the selection process.

The Republican senators’ leverage comes from the Senate’s informal “blue slip” tradition, which gives home-state senators a say over judicial appointments. While not constitutionally required, the practice can give senators significant power to stall nominations, particularly for district court seats.

The resistance has already had consequences. The White House withdrew its nomination of Arkansas judge Lee Rudofsky to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday after Cornyn and Tillis privately indicated they would oppose him in committee, according to the Associated Press.

Neither of Arkansas’ two Republican senators, John Boozman and Tom Cotton, had endorsed Rudofsky.

Both were reportedly supportive of another candidate, Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Cody Hiland, who interviewed for the appeals court vacancy. However, the White House counsel’s office instead offered Hiland a lower-level district court nomination, which he declined in August.

Tillis has also helped delay a vote on Oklahoma nominee Zachary West, acting on behalf of Republican Sen. Alan Armstrong. He said the White House must stop treating senators like a rubber stamp, telling AP, “Don’t treat us like a manufacturing facility. Treat us like the U.S. Senate.”

“I’m not making a judgment about the merit of the nominee. I’m calling a foul on a process,” Tillis added. “And the sooner the White House gets that, the more productive this next two years will be. If they don’t, they do so at their own peril.”

Meanwhile, in Texas, Cornyn has raised objections to the nomination of Elliot Gaiser, who leads the Justice…

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