Hot mic catches Trump blasting Republicans as Democrats block appointments

A pair of viral videos on social media show President Donald Trump slamming Republicans for allowing Democrat senators to continue blocking his U.S. attorney appointments and other appointments.

In a video shared Monday on X, formerly Twitter, Trump can be heard speaking on a hot mic as press members were leaving the White House.

“You know, I can’t appoint anybody,” Trump said. “I can’t appoint anybody. Everybody I’ve appointed, their time has expired, and then they’re in default, and then we’re losing cases...”

The president’s hot mic comments come after acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba resigned from her position in New Jersey on Monday following a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit that determined that she was unlawfully serving as a U.S. attorney after exceeding her 120-day interim appointment. 

In her resignation announcement on Monday, Habba explained that while she was “focused on delivering real results,” New Jersey judges “took advantage of a flawed blue slip tradition and became weapons for the politicized left.” Habba confirmed that while she was stepping down from her role in New Jersey, she would “continue to serve the Department of Justice as the Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also released a statement on Monday, slamming the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit as “flawed.” “I am saddened to accept Alina’s resignation,” Bondi added.

After Habba’s announcement on Monday, Trump was asked to comment on the situation. In response, the president criticized the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition that allows home-state senators to block presidential nominees for U.S. attorney offices and district courts.

“You’ve got a blue slip thing that’s horrible,” Trump said. “It’s a horrible thing. It makes it impossible to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney, and it’s a shame.”

“The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves that they allow this to go on,” Trump added. “Because I can’t appoint a U.S. attorney that’s not a Democrat, because they put a block on it.”

The president warned that his administration is losing “a lot of great people” due to the blue slip tradition, including seven U.S. attorneys “who are not going to be able to keep their jobs much longer.”