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Blanche faces ultimatum
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced pressure during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings as Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Blanche must meet with Epstein survivors to gain his support for the nomination.
“All GOP members will need to vote “yes” to successfully advance Blanche’s nomination.”
Tillis told lawmakers he would withhold his support for Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general unless the nominee met with survivors, saying, "I expect that meeting to occur before I’m willing to vote out of this committee."
Blanche did not testify at the hearing described by MS NOW, and the multiday process was described as rocky after Blanche faced off with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, over oversight of President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund and the government’s refusal to formally declare the proposal dead.
The Senate panel’s composition was described as 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., with all GOP members needing to vote “yes” to advance Blanche’s nomination.
In parallel, ABC News reported that multiple Epstein victims were expected to hold a private meeting Thursday with Blanche at the Justice Department, after Tillis announced the condition earlier Thursday during a hearing featuring survivor Dani Bensky.
Meeting attempt and reschedule
ABC News said Blanche made a brief attempt to meet with Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, arriving at a Senate Judiciary Committee office and sitting for about half an hour, but “no one joined them.”
After leaving the office, Blanche told ABC News, "I rearranged my schedule to try to meet with them," adding, "I've been here waiting. It didn't work out."
The Independent reported that a DOJ spokesperson said Blanche was able to rearrange his schedule and offered to meet with Epstein victims in the Capitol, but after heading to the meeting room he was informed the victims were unable to attend and the meeting was rescheduled for this afternoon.
The Hill also quoted a DOJ spokesperson saying that after heading to the meeting room, the Acting AG was informed the victims were unable to attend, so the meeting was rescheduled for this afternoon, and that he “looks forward to their discussion.”
CNN reported that the meeting with survivors and Blanche lasted for just over an hour at the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon as Blanche tried to shore up support for his nomination.
Votes, privacy, and fallout
The stakes for Blanche’s confirmation were framed around Tillis’s condition and the committee math, with CBC reporting that Blanche likely cannot advance to a full Senate vote without Tillis’s approval and that the committee was divided 11-10 after Lindsey Graham’s death.
“"I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee," Tillis said”
CBC quoted Tillis saying, "I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee," while also reporting Dani Bensky’s testimony that a group of Epstein survivors had not yet heard from the Justice Department about a possible meeting.
Bensky told the Senate panel that she and other survivors contacted former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche but “never responded,” and she said the release of files legally mandated by the Epstein Transparency Act led to widespread errors.
In the same hearing context, Blanche acknowledged redaction problems, telling lawmakers Wednesday, "I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made," while also saying the department put “tons of resources” to rectifying the mistakes immediately.
CNN reported that Cornyn said the weaponization fund “still can be revived,” while Tillis said he needs to see “work product” to ensure it won’t come up again, tying the confirmation fight to both the meeting demand and the broader policy disputes.