Welcome to the Tuesday, Aug. 5, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Trump calls on U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley to end blue slips for federal judicial, U.S. attorney nominees
- Trump issued 15 new executive orders in July
- It’s Election Day in Seattle, Washington, and Detroit, Michigan
Trump calls on U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley to end blue slips for federal judicial, U.S. attorney nominees
President Donald Trump (R) took to social media on July 29 to call on U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to end the committee’s use of blue slips for federal judicial and U.S. attorney nominees.
If you aren’t already familiar, here’s some background on blue slips.
The Senate Judiciary Committee uses the blue slip process for federal judge, U.S. attorney, and U.S. marshal nominations.
As part of the nomination process, the committee sends the nominee’s home state senators a blue slip of paper, permitting them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
When a senator returns a blue slip to the committee chair, it indicates they have no issue with the nominee, in which case the committee chair will often begin committee proceedings on the nomination. When a senator withholds a blue slip, it indicates they don’t approve of the nominee, and proceedings may be delayed indefinitely.
The blue slip policy is subject to the discretion of the committee chair. In November 2024, a representative for Grassley said, “Senator Grassley takes a traditional approach to the blue slip precedent, mirroring the application the vast majority of Judiciary chairmen have used over the past the century, while encouraging meaningful involvement from the White House and home state senators regarding nominees.”
Several Democratic senators have withheld blue slips for Trump’s nominees this year.
Recently, Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey withheld blue slips for Trump’s nomination of Alina Habba for U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey and Emil Bove for judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The Senate confirmed Bove, nominated 50-49 on July 29.
In our April 21 edition of the Daily Brew, we covered Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) announcement that he would not return blue slips for two of Trump’s nominees for federal prosecutor positions in New York: Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York and Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York.
As part of Ballotpedia’s coverage of federal courts, we maintain a list of judicial nominations with withheld blue slips. (This total does not include times senators withheld blue slips for U.S. Attorney nominees, as Schumer did for Clayton and Nocella Jr., and as Booker and Kim did for Habba.)
During the 115-118th Congresses, senators withheld blue slips from judicial nominees 33 times (out of 568 total nominations). Twenty-five of those nominees were eventually confirmed.
Republicans withheld blue slips from seven of Biden’s nominees. Democrats withheld blue slips from 26 of Trump’s nominees during his first term.
Grassley was also the committee chair during the 115th Congress, which convened on Jan. 3, 2017 and concluded on Jan. 3, 2019. In a November 2017 editorial published in The Hill, Grassley accused Democrats of abusing their blue slip privileges to “block committee proceedings for political or ideological reasons.”
During the 116th Congress, then-chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that blue slips would be honored only for district court nominees and not circuit court nominees. Of the 21 times senators withheld blue slips during the 116th Congress, 18 nominees (or 86%) were ultimately confirmed, the highest percentage in any session between 2017 and 2025.
In 2021, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair for both the 117th and 118th Congresses during Joe Biden’s (D) presidency, said he would continue to honor blue slips for district court nominees and not circuit court nominees.
Click here for more information on blue slips.
Trump issued 15 new executive orders in July
President Donald Trump (R) issued 15 executive orders in July, bringing his total to 181.
To view the titles and text of each order he issued in July, click here.
Trump issued 46 executive orders in January 2025, more than in any other month of his presidency. He issued the fewest executive orders in June, with nine.
Trump’s 401 orders across both of his terms rank 10th among all U.S. presidents. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (D) 3,721 executive orders were the most any president has issued. William Henry Harrison (Whig) issued none during his one month in office. Three presidents issued only one executive order each: James Madison (Democratic-Republican), James Monroe (Democratic-Republican), and John Adams (Federalist).
Click here to learn more about Trump’s executive orders and actions in 2025.
It’s Election Day in Seattle, Washington, and Detroit, Michigan
It’s Election Day in Seattle, Washington, and Detroit, Michigan. Polls are open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. PT in Seattle and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET in Detroit.
If you’re a Seattle or Detroit voter, click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup Tool before you head to the polls.
Here’s what’s on the ballot.
Seattle
- Mayor: Nine candidates are running in the nonpartisan primary.
- Incumbent Bruce Harrell was elected in 2021, when he defeated M. Lorena González 58.6%-41.2%. The last incumbent Seattle mayor to win re-election was Greg Nickels in 2005.
- Four candidates — Harrell, Ry Armstrong, Joe Mallahan, and Katie Wilson — lead in media attention and campaign fundraising. All four candidates are Democrats.
- City Attorney: Four candidates are running for city attorney.
- City Council: There will be nonpartisan primaries for three seats on the city council. Four candidates are running in the special election for District 2, five candidates are running for District 8, and four candidates are running for District 9.
- Proposition 1: The measure would replace an expiring levy to fund the city’s public campaign finance program. Click here to see our recent Brew coverage of Proposition 1.
Click here to learn more about Seattle’s 2025 elections.
Detroit
- Mayor: Nine candidates are running in the nonpartisan primary.
- Five candidates lead in media attention: James Craig, Fred Durhal III, Saunteel Jenkins, Solomon Kinloch, and Mary Sheffield.
- Durhal, Jenkins, Kinloch, and Sheffield are all Democrats. Craig is a Republican.
Detroit is also holding elections for city clerk, city council, board of police commissioners, and community advisory council in 2025. Click here to learn more.
Ballotpedia is also covering local and state-level elections in Arizona, Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi, and Rhode Island on Aug. 5. Click here to see a list.