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Blanche Confirmed 50-49
The U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a 50-49 vote early Saturday morning, ending a standoff over the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer who has served as acting attorney general since April.
“Blanche won confirmation in a 50-49 vote overnight”
All Democrats voted against Blanche, and two Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—also opposed the confirmation, leaving the result decided by Bill Cassidy’s vote.
After the vote, Blanche said he was "deeply honoured by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me" and added that the confirmation brought an end to the dispute over his handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and the proposed $1.8bn "anti-weaponisation" fund.
The BBC reported that some Republican senators had raised concerns about Blanche’s handling of the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and his role in establishing Trump’s $1.8bn "anti-weaponisation" fund, which critics feared could benefit people involved in the 6 January attack on Congress in 2021.
The Hill reported that Democrats blasted Blanche as an enabler of "Trump’s corruption" after the Senate vote, saying their opposition was overridden by a majority of GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Schumer, Durbin, Cassidy
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Blanche’s confirmation green lights Trump’s "pervasive, breathtaking corruption," writing that "If you want to wipe out corruption, you can’t have the president’s personal attorney as the Attorney General."
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said confirming Blanche would be a "serious mistake" and urged colleagues not to be on the "wrong side" of history.
In contrast, Sen. Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote and said, "This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr Blanche, in very specific circumstances," adding, "All considered, I will vote for Mr Blanche."
PBS reported that the confirmation followed a tumultuous fight that exposed concerns from some Republicans and Democrats about installing Trump’s close ally atop a Justice Department that historically prided itself on independence from the White House.
NBC News said the vote was held after 4 a.m. on Saturday as a late-night session ran over into the early hours ahead of a planned Senate recess, with Blanche’s confirmation in jeopardy over the anti-weaponization fund and tax audit immunity deal.
DOJ Independence at Risk
The confirmation capped off weeks of uncertainty centered on the $1.8bn "anti-weaponisation" fund and a settlement that gave Trump, his family members and his businesses immunity from tax audits, with NBC News noting that the fund could have been used to give money to Trump allies including people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
“The vote was held after 4 a.m. on Saturday”
PBS reported that Blanche publicly promised in writing that the department would abandon Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for the president's allies, including those who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and rein in another piece of the settlement designed to shield Trump and his family from IRS tax audits.
The Hill said many Democrats cited Blanche’s oversight on a now-defunct nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, the rollout of the Justice Department’s files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and his stance against abortion as reasons for opposing the nomination.
RFI quoted Sen. Dick Durbin saying, "Se supone que el fiscal general es el abogado del pueblo" and argued that Blanche was "tratando al Departamento de Justicia como un bufete de presta servicios a un solo cliente: el presidente."
NBC News also reported that critics questioned whether Blanche will stand up to Trump’s future desires to target political enemies, with former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson telling NBC News, "There are no guardrails."
