The White House on Wednesday reaffirmed its support for Sam Adkisson, the Vanderbilt University graduate and White House attorney whose nomination was announced by President Donald Trump in August, but had his nomination blocked this week after U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reportedly did not return a U.S. Senate blue slip to signal her approval.
After Adkisson’s nomination was blocked, Bloomberg Law reported that White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis described him as “one of the brightest young conservative lawyers in the country,” and a “standout member of the White House Counsel’s Office.”
Bis then indicated Trump stood by his nomination, stating, “He will make an outstanding judge on the Eastern District of Tennessee.”
Trump originally announced his intention to nominate Adkisson (pictured above) in an August 14 post to Truth Social, where the president described the 33-year-old attorney’s experience.
“Sam is currently a Special Assistant in my White House Counsel’s Office, where he has done an incredible job, and worked on numerous important cases, including our Historic Win in the Slaughter case. Sam previously worked as an attorney in private practice, and for the Senate Judiciary Committee during Justice Kavanaugh’s successful confirmation,” wrote Trump in his post.
Trump described Adkisson as a “top student at Vanderbilt University and Yale Law School” who went on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as two appellate judges.
“Sam has exemplified Wisdom and Courage, loves the Constitution, and will always defend the wonderful people of Tennessee,” wrote the president.
The White House weighed in as Reuters reported that Adkisson’s nomination was stalled after Blackburn did not return the blue slip, which, since 1917, has served as an informal tradition allowing home-state senators to block a president’s judicial nomination.
Blue slips are physical pieces of paper that the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley since January 2025, sends to senators representing a nominee’s home state. Senators can return a blue slip with a positive response to indicate approval, or retain it or send back a negative response to indicate disapproval.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the tradition dates back to at least 1917.
No constitutional provision or statute requires the blue slip, but the tradition has largely been upheld by Grassley, except for a 2017 modification that invalidated blue slips for circuit court nominations.
Grassley has continued to defend the blue slip practice under Trump’s second term, but earlier this year suggested partisan behavior by Democrats and political organizations could lead to the tradition’s demise.
“The blue slip has been a Senate practice for more than a century. It’s in part how the Senate exercises its Advice and Consent role regarding judicial nominations,” said Grassley in June. “The practice has been defended by senators of both parties over the years.”
He warned that “in this divisive political climate, shortsighted partisans have sought to undermine the blue slip practice and sew further division in our country.”
Grassley concluded his June remarks by warning that the process could become “untenable.”
“The blue slip for district judges and U.S. Attorneys has survived for a century, but this practice will become more untenable unless Senators recognize and act on the need to work with the White House in good faith,” said the senator.
Last year, legal analyst and Misrule of Law blogger Mark Pulliam argued that blue slips effectively allow Democrats to torpedo Trump’s nominees.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee has not acted upon nominations that President Trump has made for U.S. attorneys in particularly districts that are in blue states,” stated Pulliam last December.
Pulliam stated, “So by withholding this blue slip in blue states, senators can basically veto or embargo or blackball the president’s judicial nominations for district judges or for U.S. attorneys, which is exactly what they’ve done.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
