Senate Judiciary Committee advances Todd Blanche’s AG nomination as GOP cracks emerge

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice, has cleared a major hurdle as he seeks confirmation to the influential post, though a defection from a key Senate Republican has complicated his path to final approval.

In a statement Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee announced that it voted 12-10 to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate. Blanche has served as Acting Attorney General following the departure of former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi from the top post at the DOJ earlier this year. 

As documented in the minutes from the Senate Judiciary Committee’s executive business meeting Tuesday, support for Blanche fell entirely along party lines. All 12 Republicans on the committee supported Blanche’s nomination while all 10 Democrats opposed it. 

“Todd Blanche’s Justice Department has reprioritized the safety of Americans after the Biden administration opened the doors to violent criminals and turned a blind eye to the heinous crimes that were happening around the country,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, as he reflected on Blanche’s nomination. “Today, I’m not only voting to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination. I’m voting for the safety of the American people.” 

The committee’s Tuesday vote comes after Blanche agreed to rescind a May 18 order establishing an Anti-Weaponization Fund over the weekend. Two Republicans on the committee, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had threatened to withhold their support for Blanche unless he agreed to do so. The Anti-Weaponization Fund, which would have awarded $1.8 billion in compensation to those targeted by government “lawfare” — including some Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by Trump — was blocked by a federal judge shortly after its establishment. 

Cornyn and Tillis issued a joint statement Monday thanking the DOJ for issuing “a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund” and vowing to advance Blanche’s nomination out of committee. Had they voted against him, Blanche would have lacked the support necessary to advance, meaning the fund’s rescission was instrumental in securing his committee approval.

The committee’s vote clears the way for a full Senate confirmation vote, but Blanche’s path there is now less certain than it appeared. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Tuesday that she will vote against his confirmation, citing concerns that the Justice Department has become “increasingly political” under his leadership.

“Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,” Collins said.

Collins’ opposition narrows Blanche’s margin for error. Republicans hold 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, meaning Blanche can only afford to lose two more Republican votes and still be confirmed by a simple majority, assuming all Democrats oppose him. Complicating matters further, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remains absent from the Senate while recovering from a fall at his Washington home in June, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, John Curtis, R-Utah, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., were described as undecided as of the committee vote.

When Blanche’s nomination for his previous post as deputy attorney general went before the full Senate last year, he was confirmed on a party-line vote, with all 52 votes in favor of his nomination coming from Republicans and all 46 votes in opposition cast by Democrats. The Senate is scheduled to be in session for the remainder of the week before a five-week “state work period” is slated to begin on Monday.