Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is blocking three of President Trump’s Treasury nominees to protest planned rules phasing out wind and solar tax credits, expected to begin Aug. 18.
He announced Friday that he’ll hold nominations for general counsel, assistant secretary, and undersecretary. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) also joined Grassley in placing holds on the three Trump Treasury nominees
“Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of these Treasury nominees,” Grassley said.
The move comes as Grassley and Trump clash over the Senate’s “blue slip” rule, which lets senators block nominees from their states. Trump recently urged Grassley to end the practice. He argued the practice was “probably unconstitutional” and complained it prevents a president from appointing their preferred candidates.
“Chuck Grassley, who I got re-elected to the U.S. Senate when he was down, by a lot, in the Great State of Iowa, could solve the ‘Blue Slip’ problem we are having with respect to the appointment of Highly Qualified Judges and U.S. Attorneys, with a mere flick of the pen,” Trump said in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform. “Democrats like Schumer, Warner, Kaine, Booker, Schiff, and others, SLEAZEBAGS ALL, have an ironclad stoppage of Great Republican Candidates.”
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump calls on Senator CHUCK GRASSLEY of Iowa – “who I got reelected” – to IMMEDIATELY fast-track his federal judicial nominees “with a mere flick of the pen.”
“Put simply, the President of the United States will never be permitted to appoint the person of… pic.twitter.com/ROYWzVGs89
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 29, 2025
The 91-year-old Grassley, who has been a member of Congress since 1975 and in the Senate since 1981, offered the following response: “Now, to people in the Real America — not here in Washington, D.C., an island surrounded by reality — the people in Real America don’t care about what the ‘blue slip’ is, but, in fact, it impacts the district judges who serve their communities and the U.S. Attorneys who ensure law and order is enforced. I was offended by what the president said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”
