Durbin says he's open to reinstating rule that could slow judicial confirmations

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin is open to reinstating the blue slip on circuit court nominees next year, a proposal that would restore significant power to the minority party to block the White House’s judicial nominees.

Durbin (D-Ill.) said during a committee markup last week that he’d entertain conversations around restoring the blue slip — which home-state senators could use to effectively veto certain nominees — but only if it is bipartisan and agreed to before Election Day. Such a deal would be a high-stakes gamble for both sides, since neither would know who would benefit from the policy change or if future leaders would honor it.

“If there’s any members of the committee that want to start an active conversation along those lines, I’d be glad to join it,” Durbin said. “If we are going to do anything on blue slips on circuit court judges, I think there’s one premise: We should do it prospectively, not knowing the outcome of an election that may change the presidency or may not. That is a fair way to approach it.”

Republicans signaled they’re willing to have the discussion. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the panel, said in a brief interview in the Capitol that he hopes “we can find a way forward to have a little bit of a check and balance on the committee.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/15/congress/durbin-open-to-blue-slip-deal-00158168

[mjvpi]

1. Why. There are two Supreme Court justices that show exactly how the Republicans deal with rules.

[FoxNewsSucks]

5. Dems are bound by rules, republicons unzip their flies and

empty their bladders on rules.

[Polybius]

11. It sounds like he's preparing for a Republican Senate and Trump Presidency

[RazorbackExpat]

16. That was my impression as well

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. That's a fuckwit idea.

[Traurigkeit]

3. Schumer BETTER sideline the idiot Dick Durbin

[FoxNewsSucks]

4. No kidding.

That is a colossally stupid idea. Plays right into republicon hands.

They stopped honoring the "blue slips", why the hell should we re-start for them?

[50 Shades Of Blue]

6. W.I.T.F.

[Demsrule86]

7. That is a bad idea. What is wrong with him?

[bringthePaine]

8. I expect more brains and creativity from DD than this steamer🤨

[Ponietz]

9. Until we get the shiv again by the next McConnell

Send a boatload of gangster criminals to prison first. They CANNOT be trusted.

[GB_RN]

10. I Get WHY He's Tossed This Out There.

If I’m right, his idea is that he gets blue slips reinstated by agreement from both sides, in case 1) Cantaloupe Caligula wins the election and 2) the Democrats lose the Senate. The logic being that in this scenario, the Democrats would have some method of blocking at least some of Mango Mussolini’s the Federalist Society’s unqualified, piece-of-shit nominees.

However, I think we can all agree that there is no way in hell that Leningrad Lindsey and the rest of the Communist Caucus would ever keep to their word. Oh sure, they might let Durbin and company block a few nominees, but then they’d get all indignant about it, claiming the Democrats aren’t willing to work with them, so they’ll revoke the rule and ride roughshod over them to push through more Aileen “Loose” Cannons and Clarence “Uncle Slappy” Thomases.

This is just a bad idea. They’d be shooting themselves in the foot if they hold the majority, all for the hope that the GOPQ-balls will honor any deal they made.

Hey, Charlie Brown! Lucy says she’ll hold the football for you. She promises she won’t yank it away…this time. 🙄🤦?♂️

[BumRushDaShow]

17. "2) the Democrats lose the Senate."

If Democrats lose the Senate and White House, the GOP would get rid of (or ignore like they did between 2014 - 2020) any Blue Slip Rule. This is what happened after the 2016 election when Democrats had already lost the Senate in 2014 and 45 was elected.

If Democrats lose the Senate but retain the White House, the Blue Slip would restrict Democrats' ability to appoint judicial appointees in some swing (mixed Senators like WI, OH & ME) and GOP states, unless they are sufficiently loon, and that has been the terrible state of affairs since 2010.

As long as there are still teabagger scum in the Senate (e.g., Lee, Cruz, Hawley, Scott, Johnson, etc), we need to make hay while we can when it comes to judicial appointments, as everyone now sees why.

[live love laugh]

12. Durbin is a problem. He endorsed Chicago's MAGA mayoral candidate

Durbin endorsed Paul Vallas* who ran as a Democrat last year, but within months after losing joined Illinois Republicans.

Something has happened to Durbin. I have voted for him over the years, but I see a change.


*Vallas put Chicago teachers into perpetual debt, ruining their retirement fund; he decimated school systems in New Orleans and went on to do the same in the northeast I believe it was Boston. Or Baltimore.

[TeamProg]

13. We already know that we cannot trust Republicans to follow the rules!

Bad idea!

[slightlv]

14. So many of our Democratic Congresscritters

just don't see it the way we do. I guess maybe you have to be on the outside looking in, to get a clear view of the absurdity.

[Drum]

15. C'mon, folks...he only said he would engage in conversation about it.

This is noncommittal good faith as well as smart strategy.

Perhaps nothing like substantive change happens here, but it’s good to be known as someone thinking ahead and willing to engage cooperatively, right??

[LymphocyteLover]

18. No. Just no. Plus I thought they still did the blue slips?