WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche rhetorically duked it out with Senate Democrats and carefully worked to ease GOP concerns about him during a combative Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.
Blanche’s performance appeared to help move one swing senator in his direction, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), but failed to fully lock down Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and included at least one slip-up that Democrats may use against him in the future.
“I am his lawyer — was his lawyer, and now I’m the deputy attorney general,” Blanche told Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) when asked if he was friends with President Trump.
The acting attorney general served as Trump’s defense attorney in the Manhattan hush money case, something that Democrats have long dredged up and used against him. No one on the panel questioned his legal qualifications and experience to lead the DOJ, but Democrats and a few Republicans have been concerned that his loyalties are first to Trump rather than to US interests.
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Blanche tried to reassure senators that he would operate independently of the president at the helm of the DOJ. At one point, he cast doubt on whether Trump could run for reelection in 2028 — something Trump has teased — and he also acknowledged having disagreements with the president on a few issues.
The high-profile confirmation hearing was marked by the loss of one powerful vote. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C)’s committee desk was draped in black after his sudden death over the weekend.
Still, partisan politics went on.
During one fiery moment, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) grilled Blanche over FBI Director Kash Patel’s conduct, citing news reports. The FBI is part of the DOJ.
“How long do you intend to put up with that Kash Patel character?” a stern-looking Whitehouse chided. “Are you good with his airplane jaunts? Are you confident he’s not drinking on the job?… Are you sure none of his travel is a pretext for vacation activities like snorkeling, the Olympics and visiting girlfriends?”
Blanche bristled at the question, raging, “That’s an extraordinarily obnoxious question, senator.”
“And I have full faith in Director Patel and the work that he’s doing every day,” he added.
Whitehouse retorted, “Great, you get to own that.”
The Rhode Island Democrat and some of his liberal peers also pressed Blanche about several high-profile indictments, such as the one against former FBI Director James Comey, that were later tossed out by the courts.
“It’s absolutely false to suggest that this Department of Justice is not executing as we should and doing the right thing every single day,” Blanche shot back.
One concern that transcended party lines was the since-defunct $1.776 billion weaponization fund that came as a result of the government’s settlement with Trump over his lawsuit against the IRS after his tax returns were leaked.
After fierce backlash, the DOJ quashed the fund, which had sparked a revolt among Republicans in late May and early June. Blanche stressed that the fund is “not moving forward.” But when pressed on Wednesday, he acknowledged that it’s still “an enforceable document” because Trump never formally agreed to end it in writing.
In other words, Trump’s legal team could fight to compel the government to follow through with that fund. Cornyn later admitted to reporters that he is still undecided on Blanche after questioning him on the weaponization fund.
Predictably, Blanche took heat over his handling of the Epstein files, and also faced GOP skepticism over the DOJ’s stance on the abortion pill. A coalition of red states has been suing the Trump administration over its decision to continue the Biden-era policy of allowing telehealth prescriptions of the abortion drug Mifepristone and making it available by mail.
“I share your concerns, as does this entire administration,” Blanche said when pressed by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) “I don’t want to talk about litigation strategy here. It’s not appropriate … we are not defending what Biden did and will not.”
Should Blanche clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, his nomination will then go to the full chamber, where he needs to clinch majority support in order to become attorney general. He
He has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since the start of April.
Ahead of his confirmation, four former DOJ chiefs of staff spanning the Bush administrations and both Trump administrations endorsed Blanche as an “excellent choice” for the attorney general role.
“Under his leadership, violent crime has fallen dramatically and hit record lows. Property crime is also down, as is cartel activity,” they wrote in a letter to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The Department has also earned a strong win-loss record at the Supreme Court.”
