American Indian Judicial Nomination Stalled By Blue Slip Hold Up

The White House’s nominee to be the first American Indian judge on Montana’s US district court wasn’t given a hearing Wednesday as partisan frictions between the state’s Republican senator and the Biden administration disrupt the nomination.

Danna Jackson, the tribal attorney for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, was absent among a diverse slate of nominees announced by the Biden administration alongside Jackson in April.

“We’re gonna follow the blue slip process. It’s worked, and I wanted to continue following it until otherwise indicated,” Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told Bloomberg Law after the committee’s confirmation hearing.

Under current ...