Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, has taken a significant step toward becoming the next attorney general. His nomination passed a key hurdle on Tuesday, advancing through the Senate Judiciary Committee vote after weeks of protest from Republicans who wanted assurances that he would take steps to rein in one of the department’s most controversial blunders.
Background and Confirmation Process
Blanche has aggressively pursued the president’s agenda since he took over on an interim basis in April. He has pursued criminal actions against people and organizations the president has criticized, accelerated scrutiny into the government’s response to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and launched — then discontinued — a nearly $1.8 billion plan intended to compensate people who believe they were wrongly targeted by the criminal justice system.
Blanche’s team and Sen. John Cornyn’s chief legal counsel went through contentious negotiations for several days to come up with specific language that Blanche could use to confirm that the deal was indeed dead. Last Sunday night, Blanche announced a resolution, sharing two documents in a post on X, one a signed memo stating that the Justice Department was formally rescinding the order that established the anti-weaponization fund, and a second, unsigned statement clarifying the terms of the IRS protections.
Support and Next Steps
Cornyn and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis quickly affirmed their approval of the deal. Cornyn on Tuesday thanked Blanche for working with his staff on the orders and said that he expects the department to “live up” to their agreement in potential future cases. Tillis, for his part, said he was “going to support Mr. Blanche’s nomination, but what I hope I see out of him is a bending of the curve of this absurdity.”
Blanche now faces his final test to earn the job: earning the vote of nearly every Republican on the Senate floor. His confirmation is expected to pave the way for reenergized Justice Department investigations, particularly those tied to the president’s political priorities and perceived foes.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
