Blue slip withheld in Senate committee

US Senator Marsha Blackburn took the rare step of halting one of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees by withholding formal home-state approval for Samuel Adkisson on Wednesday. Adkisson, who works as an associate counsel in the White House Counsel's Office, had been scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The committee did not take up his nomination after Blackburn declined to return a blue slip, the specialized form named for its color that gives home-state senators leverage over judicial appointments. Blackburn sits on the Judiciary Committee herself and is currently campaigning to become Tennessee's next governor. The senator did not attend the Wednesday hearing, and representatives from her office did not answer requests for comment regarding why she withheld the required paperwork.

Nominee career and legal background

Trump nominated Adkisson to the district court vacancy last month, commending his participation in several important legal proceedings. The president specifically cited Adkisson's work on Trump v. Slaughter, a case in which the US Supreme Court ruled in June that the executive branch holds broad legal authority to dismiss the heads of independent regulatory agencies. Adkisson's prior legal career also includes service as a judicial law clerk to US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. In addition, Adkisson previously worked as an aide to Senator Chuck Grassley when Grassley presided as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 2018 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Mixed Republican reactions to the hold

Blackburn's decision drew differing reactions among Tennessee lawmakers and prominent conservative legal activists. When the White House first announced Adkisson's nomination, Tennessee's other Republican senator, Bill Hagerty, publicly praised the appointment and noted his background as a Supreme Court clerk, while Blackburn issued no public statement. Following the stalled hearing, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis defended Adkisson in an official statement, describing him as one of the brightest young conservative lawyers in the United States and stating he would serve as an outstanding federal judge. On Tuesday evening, Article III Project president Mike Davis posted on the platform X, describing Blackburn's procedural hold as a grave mistake.

“We could not get a more brilliant, conservative, bold, and fearless pick for the federal bench.”

Department of Justice targets Minnesota judges

The confirmation delay occurred alongside a separate administrative clash between the executive branch and sitting members of the federal judiciary. The US Department of Justice submitted disciplinary petitions to a federal appeals court against seven federal judges based in Minnesota. The department stated that the seven jurists violated their confidentiality obligations after speaking to journalists to criticize operations conducted by federal immigration authorities. Attorney General Todd Blanche asserted that the judges had breached essential ethical standards by voicing their criticisms to media outlets, prompting the formal disciplinary requests before the appellate bench.