00:01Senator, are you supportive of the idea of modifying the Senate rules in some way to get around these Democratic blockades on nominees?
00:07Well, that's not my first choice.
00:09My first choice is to have my Democratic friends be a little more reasonable.
00:16Look, we've always had in the Senate an understanding by both sides that there are certain nominees of a president that you don't quibble over.
00:27Now, there's some you do fight over, but there's some you don't.
00:32I mean, I don't mean any disrespect to whomever got this job, but having to fight over who's going to be the general counsel of the Department of Defense when that person has an unblemished record is not something the Senate ought to be spending its time on.
00:54It's also the Senator Schumer's obstruction also is having an impact on the work of the Senate.
01:02We've got a lot of bills, bipartisan bills we could bring to the floor.
01:06We don't have the floor time.
01:07We're spending it all doing this stuff.
01:09So my first preference is to have Chuck be a little more reasonable because when he's escalated like this, when the Democrats are back in charge, then it's going to force us to do the same thing.
01:23And it's just not good for the Senate.
01:25My second choice would be to, if we have to, if Chuck makes us, revise the rules because we can't just spend all our time on personnel.
01:34We can't, and the third option, which to me is the least enticing, is to just say, okay, you know, you ask for it, you'll get it.
01:47We're going to go into recess and let the president make his appointments.
01:51Now, I don't want to do that, but that to me is where this thing's headed.
01:55Some on my side, all of us on my side, are working on a new set of rules to try to address this, to make the nominations go faster.
02:05But I don't think it's going to be done in a short period of time, maybe even a long period of time.
02:14You know, senators, both Republicans and Democrats, are like cats.
02:18They do what they want.
02:19And for us to agree to a rule is going to take more than, you know, three or four days of discussion.
02:25Senator, I'm sorry you've been asked this already, but do you agree with Trump that Grassley should get rid of the blue slips for U.S. attorneys?
02:31I do not agree with the president on that.
02:33I understand his frustration.
02:35President Biden had the same frustration.
02:38I remember that.
02:39Senator Durbin, when he was chair under President Biden, threatening Republicans to get rid of the blue slip.
02:46And, but Dick never would have.
02:49He was bluffing.
02:51And I knew it was bluffing.
02:53And he knew it was bluffing because it's a cherished and very needed Senate tradition.
03:00Why is it needed?
03:01I'm sorry?
03:02Can you explain why it's needed, why it's important to keep that tradition around?
03:04Yes, because federal district judges, courts of appeal are, well, if I were voting, I wouldn't have given up the blue slip for the courts of appeal.
03:15But particularly for district court judges, senators are much better able to be able to pick a lawyer from their community that satisfies what I call community standards.
03:31And community standards, for me, when I pick a federal judge, I want somebody, of course, their ideology matters.
03:38I don't want somebody who's going to try to rewrite the Constitution every other Thursday to advance some social agenda.
03:44But what I try to, what I try to do is pick men and women so that others in the community will look at and go, you know, I maybe don't agree with everything they've ever said or done, but man, those are damn good lawyers.
04:01And they'll be fair.
04:03And they'll listen to both sides.
04:05That's the goal.
04:07That's who I try to pick anyway.
04:09And presidents are more distant from the states.
04:14They don't have that.
04:15And presidential advisors.
04:17They don't have that community knowledge.
04:19They don't know.
04:21And I think it's a very good thing for the Senate to have input.
04:25And I say this to the president with respect.
04:29Mr. President, pretty pleased.
04:31We sugar on top.
04:33Back off this.
04:34Because I don't think the Senate's going to go long.
04:37And I think it's just a needless fight.
04:41Chuck Grassley's been a good chairman.
04:43He's got a great record at getting the presidential nominees through when they should be gotten through.
04:52That's my two cents worth.
04:54I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
04:56I could be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's going to be wrong, but I don't think the Senate's
