Durbin eyes blockade on Trump US attorney nominees, blaming Vance

WASHINGTON (CN) — Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin on Thursday previewed what could be a seismic change in how the Senate confirms U.S. attorney nominees, announcing a hold on one of President Donald Trump’s federal prosecutor picks and suggesting that he might expand the blockade to future appointments.

If the Illinois Democrat follows through on the threat, it could establish a new precedent where U.S. attorney nominations would be subject to full floor consideration rather than the expedited process seen in the past.

In a statement Thursday, Durbin announced that he would put a hold on Jason Quinones, nominated by the Trump administration to become a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The Senate Judiciary Committee last week favorably reported the nominee to the full Senate on a party-line vote.

Traditionally, U.S. attorney nominees clear the Senate with little fuss — lawmakers have long had an informal agreement that allows federal prosecutors to be confirmed via unanimous consent.

But the unanimous consent agreement for U.S. attorneys was threatened during the Joe Biden administration, when then-Ohio Senator JD Vance implemented a one-man hold on all of the former president’s federal prosecutor appointments. Vance said at the time that his blockade was in response to the Biden Justice Department’s prosecution of Trump.

And, as he announced his block against Quinones, Durbin blamed now-Vice President Vance.

“[T]here is now a new precedent for roll call votes on the Floor for confirming U.S. attorney nominees,” Durbin said. “As I’ve said time and time again — there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans and another set for Democrats.”

The hold, he added, would ensure that “appropriate floor time is spent,” considering Quinones’ nomination.

The No. 2 Senate Democrat also suggested that his blockade could extend beyond Trump’s pick for the Southern District of Florida, saying that he “may” continue to demand roll call votes on future U.S. attorney nominees who clear the Judiciary Committee.

It’s not the first time that Durbin has taken steps to maintain equilibrium on Senate procedure. As chair of the Judiciary Committee during the latter half of the Biden administration, the Illinois Democrat refused to honor GOP blue slips for the White House’s appellate nominees.

Blue slips, another informal Senate tradition, allow home-state senators to offer support or opposition to a president’s judicial nominees. Though they were often held up as a last vestige of bipartisanship in the chamber, Republicans in 2017 walked away from the practice for circuit court nominees.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a former top Republican of the Judiciary Committee at the time, argued that blue slips were effectively used as single-senator vetoes for judicial nominees.

When Democrats took back the Senate under former President Biden, Durbin said that he was merely continuing the precedent set by his GOP colleagues. He argued — as he did on Thursday — that there should not be one set of rules for Democrats and another for Republicans.

Durbin, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek reelection in 2026, said that he appreciated Grassley’s recent comments that he would continue to honor blue slips, calling them “critical” for approving federal district court judges, U.S. attorneys, and U.S. marshals.

A spokesperson for Grassley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Durbin’s hold or the new precedent he unveiled.

The move to block Quinones is the latest episode in the Trump administration’s spotty record with U.S. attorney nominees. The White House this month pulled its nominee for D.C.’s federal prosecutor, Ed Martin, after Senate Republican support collapsed.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also announced his own hold on a pair of New York U.S. attorney appointments.

And Alina Habba, the president’s acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, has come under fire from lawmakers and even a federal judge in recent weeks over her efforts to prosecute Democratic officials after a scuffle with law enforcement outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center earlier this month.

Follow @BenjaminSWeiss