U.S. Senate Democrats likely to block Halligan’s nomination, Semafor reports

Audio By Carbonatix

Dec 12 (Reuters) – Virginia’s Democratic senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are likely to block U.S President Donald Trump’s nomination of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Semafor news site reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Halligan, 36, is a former insurance attorney who also worked as a personal lawyer for Trump after his first term in office. She was a White House aide to Trump early in his second term, and has no previous experience as a prosecutor.

On Thursday, The White House sought to advance Halligan’s nomination before the Republican-controlled Senate, though it faces an uphill battle.

The White House and Senators Kaine and Warner did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comments.

Although Republicans control the U.S. Senate, Halligan’s nomination faces major hurdles thanks to a tradition known as the “blue slip” process, in which the Senate typically defers to each state’s two senators on U.S. Attorney and judicial nominations.

Both Republicans and Democrats have balked at calls by Trump to end the “blue slip” process, in a bid to make it easier for his nominees to sail through the Senate confirmation process.

(Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)