'Withdrawn': GOP senator jolts MAGA by saying Trump DOJ pick lacks votes for confirmation

Alina Habba outside Trump Tower in New York City on March 21, 2023

When Alina Habba, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) District of New Jersey, her critics argued that the appointment was overtly political and reflected the fact that she is very much a Trump loyalist. Habba vowed to "make New Jersey red" during a podcast interview, which, critics said, is not the type of comment an interim U.S. attorney should be making.

Habba's term ended on July 24, and the status of her tenure has been in dispute.

Now, 91-year-old Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — the U.S. Senate's president pro tempore and the oldest member — is weighing in on Habba's position at DOJ.

In a Monday, August 25 post on X, formerly Twitter, Grassley tweeted, "Habba was withdrawn as the President's nominee for New Jersey U.S. Atty on July 24 &the Judic cmte never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination."

Grassley, in a separate post, wrote, "A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not hv the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t hv the votes to get out of cmte As chairman I set Pres Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE."

Grassley's comments are generating a lot of discussion on X.

CNN's Aaron Blake, formerly of the Washington Post, tweeted, "Interesting response from Grassley here, basically emphasizing that Habba couldn't get confirmed and that's why she's not U.S. attorney."

MAGA attorney Mike Davis, known for his inflammatory attacks on Democrats, posted, " Fact Check: True. I believe the century-old blue-slip veto is bad. But until we get all 12 Senate Judiciary Republicans and at least 50 Senate Republicans to agree to ignore blue slips, these nominees will all fail in their committee and floor votes. Tillis has already said he will vote against nominees without blue slips. So these nominees will fail in their committee votes. This isn't a Grassley problem. This is a Senate problem."

MAGA supporter Andrew Spanton commented, "Recess appointments Time to step up the heat big time on (Senate Majority Leader John) Thune."

Another MAGA Republican, Isabella Davis, wrote, "It is right that this kind of 'blue vote veto' should have been abolished a long time ago, for it will only slow down the process and aggravate the political stalemate."