Senate Pushes Through Controversial Blanche Nomination by Razor-Thin Margin
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Despite unified Democratic opposition and dissent from two principled Republicans, the Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general, raising concerns about political interference, lack of accountability, and the Justice Department’s integrity.
In a deeply troubling move early Saturday, the Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general by a 50-49 vote, disregarding the warnings of all Democratic senators and two Republican voices of conscience, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Blanche, a loyalist elevated from the Justice Department’s second-in-command, now leads an agency of 100,000—an appointment that underscores the erosion of checks and balances in the Trump era. The decisive vote came from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who, despite losing his renomination, justified his support by expressing vague concerns about Blanche’s shielding of the president from IRS audits and the DOJ’s targeting of political opponents, but ultimately capitulated to the pressure of a broken system. Cassidy’s claim that his vote was not a referendum on the president rings hollow, as the alternative—a more independent acting attorney general—was dismissed out of hand.
Blanche’s confirmation was marred by controversy over the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, a slush fund created in the wake of the president’s leaked tax returns. Only after Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written assurances that the fund would be rescinded did Blanche provide a statement confirming its termination. The Justice Department’s subsequent clarification that audit protections only applied retroactively to Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization further exposed the department’s willingness to bend the law for the powerful. Legal experts, such as Brandon DeBot of the Tax Law Center at NYU, dismissed these assurances as meaningless, noting they lacked signatures from all parties to the settlement.
Critics also pointed to Blanche’s troubling record as deputy attorney general, where he pursued cases seemingly designed to intimidate political opponents and mishandled the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, denying justice to survivors. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla rightly argued that the American people deserve better, while Epstein survivors expressed disappointment with Blanche’s callous demeanor during a meeting. Yet, establishment Republicans like Sen. John Cornell praised Blanche’s willingness to cooperate with the committee, emphasizing the need for a permanent DOJ head who would serve at the president’s pleasure. As Cornyn put it, President Trump needs someone close enough to provide confidential legal advice and tell him hard truths—a chilling reminder of the ongoing politicization of the Justice Department.