Durbin obstruction threat chills Senate as Trump nominees hang in balance

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., utilized his opening remarks during the Senate’s archetypal judicial nominee proceeding of the twelvemonth connected Wednesday to punctual his colleagues that helium was holding up astatine slightest 1 of President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice nominees.

"I've got a clasp connected 1 nominee from Florida," Durbin said. "I've spoken to some Florida senators astir it. It isn't personal. We've got to find a mode retired of this that is just and bipartisan that we're going to instrumentality with for some governmental parties."

Durbin, the apical Democrat connected the Senate Judiciary Committee, is blocking the information of Jason Reding Quinones, Trump’s prime to pb the U.S. attorney’s bureau successful the Southern District of Florida. Durbin besides precocious threatened to obstruct much of Trump’s picks to pb the DOJ’s 93 U.S. attorney’s offices.

Durbin's menace loomed implicit the committee hearing, which featured 5 of Trump's nominees to capable national justice positions. The Illinois Democrat attributed his blockade to Vice President JD Vance announcing a clasp connected DOJ nominees successful 2023. Vance, past a senator, said helium would not assistance his clasp connected nominees until then-Attorney General Merrick Garland stopped "going aft his governmental opponents," a notation to the 2 national prosecutions of Trump.

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Sen. Dick Durbin speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee proceeding successful 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Any legislator has the powerfulness to usage holds to entity to nominations. The signifier importantly slows down the confirmation process due to the fact that it prevents senators from voting for nominees done the typical, expedited unanimous consent process.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, argued Wednesday that, similar Durbin, helium excessively disagreed with Vance’s decision, but Grassley said it was notably antithetic than Durbin's.

"This isn't what you tin legitimately telephone a precedent for broad obstruction astatine the opening of an medication earlier adjacent a azygous 1 of these 93 U.S. attorneys person been filled," Grassley said.

Grassley, who himself has hindered nominees successful past administrations, said holds should beryllium utilized "selectively" and quoted Durbin saying past Congress that "public information volition endure crossed the United States" if the obstruction of U.S. attorneys is carried out.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley successful the U.S. Capitol connected Sept. 24, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Durbin said Vance changed the rules "overnight."

"And conjecture what? The tables turn," Durbin said. "There comes a clip erstwhile you privation to determination these by dependable vote, and we're going to person to say, arsenic Democrats, we're going to travel the Vance precedent."

Durbin, who has an amicable narration with Grassley, signaled helium was consenting to travel to negociate with Republicans implicit the Florida nominee, who has already been favorably reported retired of the committee on enactment lines.

Asked by Fox News Digital what a solution would look like, a Durbin spokeswoman pointed to the senator's remarks during the proceeding and declined to remark further. 

Durbin’s clasp is not the lone roadblock for Trump’s nominees. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday from the Senate level that Republicans wanted to "quietly rubber-stamp" Patrick Davis’ information and that helium would not let it.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Trump nominated Davis, a erstwhile Grassley aide, to service arsenic adjunct lawyer wide for the Office of Legislative Affairs, who is liable for handling DOJ's correspondence with Congress. Schumer said helium opposed Davis' information successful portion due to the fact that the DOJ has been unresponsive to his inquiries astir the arguable luxury level that Qatar talented to the Trump administration.

"They won’t adjacent reply superior questions astir this. This level should beryllium withdrawn," Schumer said.

He added that erstwhile "this Justice Department is arsenic horrible arsenic it is, arsenic governmental arsenic it is, arsenic destructive of American values arsenic it has been, nary way."

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Grassley responded to Schumer connected X: "Why would Democrats expect responsiveness to Congress from DOJ erstwhile they obstruct Pres Trump’s nominees who r liable to ANSWER THEIR LTTRS????"

The past 2 Senate-confirmed heads of the Office of Legislative Affairs, during the Biden medication and archetypal Trump administration, were confirmed done the speedy dependable ballot process.