Alina Habba says she 'won't be intimidated' after Senate custom hinders US Attorney nomination

At the center of the fight is the Senate's blue slip tradition - a bipartisan custom, applied to both federal judges and U.S. attorneys, that allows home-state senators to signal or withhold approval for the president's picks. 

"Senator Booker and Senator Kim had absolutely every right to vote no for me for the U.S. attorney position, but I had the right, as the nominee, to get in front of Senate and to be voted on, to be vetted. I never even got there," Habba said.

Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has defended the custom and refused to back down, drawing ire from both Habba and Trump.

Grassley responded to Trump's criticism and calls for the blue slip tradition to be "abandon[ed]" last month, saying he was "disappointed" by Trump's posts regarding the custom. 

"I was offended by what the president said," Grassley said during opening remarks at a Judiciary Committee meeting. 

"And I'm disappointed that it would result in personal insults."

Habba has pointed out that the blue slip tradition is not "law" and therefore does not have to be honored.