McConnell Mans Up and Ends "Blue Slip" Vetoes of Judiciary Nominees

A deeply stupid system has been in place for a long, long time. When a judge is nominated, the Senator from his state can put a "blue slip" on the nomination, which is a potentially indefinite hold. One Senator can block a qualified judge forever just because of the happenstance that he got elected in the state the judge lives in.

Mitch McConnell is putting an end to this practice, and will no longer treat the blue slip as an absolute hold on a nominee, but as a "strictly advisory" recommendation -- McConnell told Fred Barnes that going forward, a blue slip will just be taken as a simple "notification of how you�re going to vote, not as an opportunity to blackball.�

Almost exactly a month after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that he would not allow Democrats to use the blue-slip process as a stealth filibuster, McConnell has ordered the Judiciary Committee to treat them as strictly advisory. That will free up two Trump nominees for the appellate court, including current Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras.

Barnes also reports that McConnell will prioritize getting judges confirmed, putting them ahead of lesser executive appointments as far as the voting schedule.