U.S. Senator John Fetterman has cleared the way for one of President Donald Trump’s federal judge nominees to advance in Pennsylvania, becoming the first Democrat to return a “blue slip” approval for a Trump judicial pick during his second term. Fetterman submitted the blue slip form for Antonio Pozos, Trump’s nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, on June 5, 2026, according to Reuters and Punchbowl News.
The blue slip is a century-old Senate tradition that allows home-state senators to signal their approval or disapproval of judicial nominees appointed to seats in their state. When a senator returns a positive blue slip, it clears the way for the nominee to proceed to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing; when withheld, it can delay or block consideration indefinitely. Fetterman’s decision to return the blue slip for Pozos marks a significant departure from Democratic strategy on Trump’s judicial nominees.
Pozos is a partner at the Philadelphia law firm Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath and a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, according to USA Today and Reuters. Trump announced his nomination on May 11, 2026, the same day he nominated another federal judge to a seat in a state with Democratic representation. Pozos was scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 10, according to Reuters, though Fetterman’s office said the senator would decide on his confirmation vote when the time comes.
Fetterman has not publicly commented on his decision to return the blue slip. His office did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY. The move drew swift condemnation from progressive legal advocates. Demand Justice, a progressive nonprofit, announced a six-figure ad buy in Pennsylvania targeting Fetterman in response to his decision, according to Punchbowl News and Reuters. The group has run similar ads against some of the 19 Democrats who voted in favor of Trump’s judicial nominees during his second term.
Josh Orton, president of Demand Justice, expressed concern that Fetterman’s action could signal a broader shift in Democratic opposition to Trump’s judges. “My hope is that returning a blue slip on a Trump judge stays as just another Fetterman turn to enabling Trump, and not something broadly adopted by the Democratic caucus,” Orton said, according to Reuters. Progressive groups have opposed Trump’s judicial nominees, arguing in part that they refuse to state that Trump lost the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden.
The blue slip process has become a key tool for Democrats seeking to block Trump’s judicial nominees. The Pennsylvania seat Pozos is nominated for is located in Philadelphia, Allentown, Easton, and Reading. Trump has also nominated Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Martin to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan; Michigan’s two Democratic senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, have not yet said whether they will return blue slips for his nomination, according to Reuters.
Sources
- Reuters — Fetterman’s confirmation that he returned the blue slip, Pozos’s background and nomination date, blue slip process explanation, and Demand Justice’s response
- USA Today — Fetterman’s blue slip submission, Pozos’s law firm and background, Judiciary Committee hearing date, and progressive opposition
- Punchbowl News — First reporting of Fetterman’s decision and Demand Justice’s ad buy announcement
