Senate Democrats look set to deal another blow to Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s challenger to lead the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A federal judge has already ruled that Trump illegally appointed Halligan — a former beauty contestant and insurance lawyer with no prior prosecution experience — as interim U.S. attorney and threw out the case against former FBI Director James Comey and New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
His predecessor, veteran prosecutor Eric Siebert, was forced out after refusing to charge James with mortgage fraud, citing a lack of evidence.
On Thursday, the White House pushed to advance Halligan’s nomination in the Senate, but the president’s top pick appears to have hit a wall, Semaphore reported.
President Trump is trying to advance the Senate nomination of Lindsay Halligan. / XNY/Star Max/GC Images/Getty Images
Virginia’s two Democratic senators are likely to block the nomination by refusing to return so-called “blue slips,” a process that indicates home-state support for candidates.
Halligan, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, is “not a blue slip” for Sen. Tim Kaine or Mark Warner, Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Semaphore.
Neither Virginia Democrat has pledged to block Halligan, but his chances of getting a blue slip aren’t good. According to Semaphore, Warner said he would meet with her but it would be “very difficult” to support her.
A Warner spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Halligan had not reached out to try to schedule a meeting. The Daily Beast has also reached out to Kane’s office for comment.
Failure to return a positive blue slip amounts to an internal veto, because without one, the Senate Judiciary Committee will not proceed with a hearing or recommendation for a nominee.
The White House declined to comment.
On Thursday, Trump expressed outrage against the blue slip process in a truthful social post.
“I’m here asking Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a brilliant man, to do something, ideally an end to blue slips,” Trump wrote. “Lots of big Republicans going on, Packin’ sent. None getting accepted!!!”
His tirade came days after another of his former personal attorneys, Elina Hubba, was forced to resign as New Jersey’s top prosecutor after an appeals court found that she was illegally serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has refused to scrap the blue slip process. / Samuel Coram / Getty Images
By law, interim U.S. attorneys can serve only 120 days without Senate confirmation, unless the federal judiciary agrees to keep them in office longer.
In Habba’s case, a panel of judges voted not to extend his appointment, while in Halligan, the court ruled that his appointment was invalid because his predecessor had already served a 120-day interim period.
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Thune rejected Trump’s call to scrap the blue slip process and insisted the Senate has approved his nominees at a “record rate.”
“It’s a long-standing process, which both Republicans and Democrats support because it gives them some input — particularly in those judicial appointments that are made in their individual states — in that decision-making process,” the Senate majority leader said in a rare display of GOP pushback.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has brought in new prosecutors to try to secure grand jury indictments against Comey and James, but has failed to convince the two grand juries to sign off on indictments against James.
