Todd Blanche’s Attorney General Nomination Clears Senate Judiciary Committee
President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Todd Blanche, cleared a major hurdle Tuesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance his nomination to the full Senate, putting him within striking distance of permanent confirmation as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
The Republican-controlled committee approved Blanche’s nomination in a 12-10 party-line vote. Every Republican on the panel supported him, while all Democrats voted against advancing the nomination. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since April following Pam Bondi’s departure from the Justice Department.
The vote represents a dramatic turnaround for Blanche after his nomination appeared to be in serious trouble just days ago. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had threatened to block him over concerns surrounding a controversial $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund connected to a settlement involving President Trump and the IRS.
Blanche ultimately secured their support by formally rescinding the fund and providing written assurances that it would not be revived through the Justice Department. The move satisfied Cornyn and Tillis, who announced Monday that they were prepared to support his nomination when it returned to the Judiciary Committee.
President Trump had strongly defended Blanche throughout the dispute and even threatened to keep him running the Justice Department in an acting capacity if Republican holdouts refused to confirm him. Trump also floated the possibility of withdrawing Blanche’s nomination and resubmitting it after the senators blocking him eventually left office.
Democrats remain firmly opposed to Blanche, raising concerns about his independence from the White House and pointing to his previous role as one of Trump’s personal defense attorneys. Republicans have countered that Blanche’s extensive prosecutorial experience and leadership at the Justice Department make him qualified to permanently take over the department.
Blanche previously served as deputy attorney general before taking over as acting attorney general. Before entering the Trump administration, he worked as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and later became one of Trump’s leading defense attorneys in several of the criminal cases brought against him before his return to the White House.
The nomination will now head to the full Senate, where Republicans hold the majority and Blanche is positioned for confirmation following the resolution of the Cornyn-Tillis dispute. A final vote has not yet been scheduled, but Tuesday’s committee victory removes what had become the biggest obstacle standing between Blanche and permanent control of the Justice Department.