Alina Habba blames Republicans and Democrats for rule used to block her nomination
In July, Democrat-appointed judges on the U.S. District Court of New Jersey refused to retain former Trump lawyer Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey.
This week saw Habba strike back with public remarks which also targeted some prominent Senate Republicans.
"Blue slip rule" has blocked Habba's nomination
According to Politico, Habba is campaigning for an end to the Senate's "blue slip rule," a long-standing tradition under which senators from a given state effectively have veto power over the confirmation of U.S. attorneys and federal judges there.
Politico noted how New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim have used the rule to keep her nomination from advancing.
What's more, senior Senate Republicans are opposed to abolishing the rule, a fact which Habba slammed during a recent appearance on "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."
Habba names Sens. Tillis and Grassley
"This tradition that Senator Grassley is upholding effectively prevents anybody in a blue state from going through into Senate to then be voted on," she complained.
"Senator Booker and Senator Kim had absolutely every right to vote no for me for the U.S. Attorney position. But I had the right as the nominee to get if front of Senate and to be voted on, to be vetted. I never even got there," Habba pointed out.
"The truth is it has nothing to do with the work that we’re doing, it has nothing to do with the crime that we’re stopping," she told Bartiromo.
"It has to do with trying to prevent President Trump from continuing his agenda, and it has to stop. So I would say to Senator Tillis and Senator Grassley, you are becoming part of the issue. You are becoming part of the antithesis of what we fought for four years," Habba went on to add.
Trump says White House will sue over blue slip rule
Politico noted that Habba was not alone in voicing criticism over the blue slip rule, as President Trump has done so as well.
"We’re … going to be filing a lawsuit on blue slipping," the president was quoted as telling reporters at the White House on Monday.
"You know, blue slips make it impossible for me as president to appoint a judge or U.S. Attorney because they have a gentlemen’s agreement," Trump lamented.
"It’s nothing memorialized, it’s a gentlemen’s agreement that’s about 100 years old," the president went on to point out.
