President Trump’s nomination of James McDonald to serve as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has a blue slip problem in the Senate. Blue slips may sound like insider jargon. But they are one of the many ways senators exercise their power behind the scenes.
Trump needs to fill the U.S. Attorney for SDNY position after he nominated its current occupant, Jay Clayton, to serve as Director of National Intelligence. But New York’s two Democratic senators – Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – oppose McDonald and are refusing to return their blue slips to advance his nomination. Trump, in turn, is keeping Clayton in the U.S. Attorney position until the Senate confirms McDonald.
