Acting attorney general Todd Blanche is poised to be confirmed in the position after enough Republican holdouts said they would back his nomination, notching a major win for the Trump administration.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Tenn., the final undecided senator, announced on Friday he would vote in favor of Blanche’s nomination when it comes to the floor, just barely overcoming the simple majority needed to confirm him. It’s expected Blanche will need Vice President J.D. Vance to break a tie as Cassidy is only the 50th Republican senator to support his nomination, and the nominee will need at least 51.
“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this,” Cassidy said in a highly anticipated floor speech on Friday. “But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
Cassidy’s support brings an end to weeks of uncertainty surrounding Blanche’s confirmation as several Republican senators questioned whether his previous position as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney would cloud his judgment in a position that is typically considered to be nonpartisan. Blanche was nominated to the position nearly two months ago after the ouster of Pam Bondi.
Blanche first faced an uphill battle in the Senate Judiciary Committee where Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina threatened to tank his nomination over the Justice Department’s proposed $1.78 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. That program was intended to aid individuals who felt they were unfairly targeted by the federal government, which could have included those charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Blanche came to agreement with the duo last week to formally terminate the fund, writing in an agreement that it “is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” The acting attorney general was later advanced out of committee Tuesday morning.
From there, a handful of other Republican senators were faced with the decision on whether to back his nomination.
Curtis decided to support Blanche
Utah Sen. John Curtis, who met with Blanche twice to discuss the fund as well as Utah-specific issues, announced on Tuesday he would back his nomination. Later that day, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she would vote against.
That left Cassidy and Sen. Lisa Murkowski to decide. With razor-thin margins in the Senate and the prolonged absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, Blanche could only afford to lose one of them — otherwise his nomination would fail.
Murkowski announced in a statement early Friday that she would vote against Blanche, raising concerns the anti-weaponization fund could be revived at a later date once the negotiations over his position were over.
Although Cassidy said Blanche showed “poor judgment” related to the anti-weaponization fund, he noted the acting attorney general has since called that decision a mistake. While there are still concerns about the DOJ being used to weaponize political enemies, Cassidy said “this will be true no matter who the Attorney General is.”
“This is the rationale for having a Senate confirmed Attorney General with more leverage to push back,” Cassidy said. “Mr. President, I can absolutely believe that President Trump, at times, would not take advice. But even critics admit that Mr. Blanche knows the law and is a hands-on administrator.”
With Cassidy’s approval, the Senate could vote as soon as Friday evening to approve Blanche’s nomination. The Senate is set to leave town for its five-week recess over the weekend, and Republicans are eager to get as many items crossed off their agenda as possible before then.