Sen. Bill Cassidy Enables Trump Loyalist Todd Blanche for Attorney General, Undermining Justice Department Independence
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Republican Senator Bill Cassidy has thrown his support behind Todd Blanche, a Trump loyalist, for attorney general, potentially paving the way for confirmation despite principled opposition from two GOP senators concerned about corruption and abuse of power.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy announced Friday that he will vote for Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general, a move that threatens to further erode the independence of the Justice Department under the Trump administration. Cassidy’s Senate floor endorsement comes despite the nomination facing justified resistance from Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who have raised alarms about the dangerous direction of the department.
Cassidy admitted that Blanche “is not perfect,” referencing the deeply troubling $1.8 billion fund designed to compensate Trump’s political cronies, a tax-audit immunity deal for the president, and the targeting of political opponents through investigations. Rather than rejecting these abuses, Cassidy argued that no other nominee could better serve Trump’s interests, highlighting Blanche’s role as the president’s former criminal-defense lawyer as a qualification to manage the White House’s demands. “This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances,” Cassidy claimed, anticipating backlash for enabling Trump’s agenda.
Blanche has been acting attorney general since President Trump fired Pam Bondi in April for failing to prosecute Trump’s adversaries—a clear sign of the administration’s politicization of justice. Blanche’s confirmation has been further tainted by a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which established the $1.8 billion slush fund and granted sweeping tax-audit immunity to Trump and his family for existing claims, raising serious ethical and legal concerns.
Senator Murkowski, standing against the nomination, voiced concerns about the Justice Department’s mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the corrupt tax-audit immunity, and the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” She emphasized the urgent need for an attorney general who would act as a check on the administration’s worst impulses, not enable them.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche’s nomination only after a backroom deal with Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who had threatened to block the vote. As part of the agreement, Blanche rescinded the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” but the Justice Department’s clarification that the tax-audit immunity applies only to claims open at the time of settlement and only to Trump, his two sons, and the Trump Organization does little to address the underlying corruption.
Democrats have rightfully pointed out that the order does not prevent the administration from reviving the fund after confirmation and are calling for legislation to permanently bar such abuses. They also question the legality of the tax protections, with a federal judge describing Trump’s lawsuit as an improper self-dealing transaction.
Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, warned that confirming Blanche would be “a serious mistake,” urging colleagues not to side with history’s wrongdoers.
Blanche’s supporters, ignoring the glaring conflicts of interest, tout his background as a federal prosecutor and his record on violent crime, illegal immigration, and drug trafficking, as if these credentials outweigh the grave threat to the rule of law posed by his nomination.