Grassley clashes with Trump over nominations

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By Sara Merken

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REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley today said he was "offended" and "disappointed" by President Trump's social media posts targeting him for refusing to end a custom that allows Democratic senators to effectively veto new nominees to serve as judges and prosecutors in their states.

At the start of a Senate Judiciary hearing on four of Trump's judicial nominees, Grassley, an Iowa Republican, took issue with the president's call late Tuesday on his social media platform Truth Social for an end to the so-called "blue slip" process in the Republican-led Senate.

Senators by custom must return blue slips, named for the color of the form, in order for any district court or U.S. attorney nominees from their states to advance and receive a hearing before the committee. The custom has allowed senators in both parties to block nominees they opposed in their home states and ensure the White House consults with them to find acceptable picks.

Read more from Nate Raymond.

In New York: Lowenstein Sandler hired white-collar defense and corporate investigations partner Jonathan Algor from Kasowitz … Dorsey & Whitney added commercial litigation partners Jeremy Deutsch, Christian Cangiano, and Elliot Coz from Cozen O'Connor … Hughes Hubbard brought on finance partner Andrés Berry from Clifford Chance … Seward & Kissel added Susanne Burstein as head of transportation finance from Watson Farley & Williams … Haynes Boone picked up litigation partners Gabriel Berg and Lauren Coppola from Robins Kaplan … Former federal prosecutor Christopher Connolly joined Kaplan Martin … K&L Gates tapped asset management and investment funds partner Robert Leonard from Dechert.

In D.C.: King & Spalding added Matthew McGill from Gibson Dunn, where he was co-chair of the judgment and arbitral award enforcement and betting and gaming groups … Foley Hoag hired life sciences partner Jay Reilly from Saul Ewing … Jones Day tapped Stephen Forster, who advises on drug pricing and price reporting, from Morgan Lewis … Dechert brought on tax partner Rebecca Lee from PwC … Burr & Forman hired construction partner Michelle West from Fox Rothschild. 

In Denver: Buchalter added Michael Kilgarriff as co-chair of its state attorneys general group from Ballard Spahr … Spencer Fane hired cryptocurrency partner Emma Channing, who founded the Satis Group.

Across other cities: Alston & Bird picked up investment funds partner Emily Stephens in Los Angeles from Greenberg Traurig … Arnold & Porter brought on four partners from K&L Gates and opened an office in Seattle … Honigman hired litigation partner Devin Carpenter in Chicago from DLA Piper … Husch Blackwell hired tax credits partner Katie Trovitch in St. Louis from Dentons … Wiggin and Dana added real estate partner Vasiliki Yiannoulis-Riva in Stamford and New York from Polsinelli … Greenspoon Marder brought on entertainment and sports partner Cathy Hampton in Atlanta.

REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo

President Trump threatened Brazil with 50% tariffs this month, venting his anger over the country's prosecution of his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the move may provide ammunition to plaintiffs aiming to bring down the centerpiece of the White House's tariff agenda.

Trade law experts and plaintiffs in a federal court challenge to Trump's sweeping tariffs, which are backed by the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), say the president's outburst against Brazil is another prime example of him far exceeding any legal authority to levy tariffs. Read more from David Lawder.

A very powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka coast triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile … Palestinians in a West Bank village face a new crisis as settlers cut off water … A fragile truce between Cambodia and Thailand held for a second day, despite mutual accusations of violations … Palo Alto's $25 billion deal for CyberArk targets rising AI-driven threats. Plus, a look at how heat threatens lives in America's prisons.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

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