On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Eric Miller to a Ninth Circuit vacancy in the state of Washington (and on other nominations, including the nomination of Bridget Bade to a Ninth Circuit vacancy in Arizona).
In a letter last week to Washington senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley noted that he has not yet received their blue slips on the nomination. Grassley spelled out at great length the extensive consultation that the White House undertook with Murray and Cantwell. He explained that “the blue-slip courtesy exists for a specific purpose: to ensure the White House consults with home-state senators before nominating an individual to the bench.” He reiterated that he “will not allow senators to abuse the blue-slip courtesy by withholding the blue slip for political or ideological reasons”—especially not for circuit-court nominees, “who are nominated to regional courts that affect several states, not just the home-state senators’ states.”