The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, brushing aside sharp Democratic denunciations and sending the measure to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote this week.
Republicans powered the nomination through the committee on a 12-10 vote, saying President Trump deserved to have his man in office, particularly since Mr. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general for four months, after the ouster of Pam Bondi.
“Todd Blanche’s Justice Department has reprioritized the safety of Americans after the Biden administration opened the borders to violent criminals and then turned a blind eye to the heinous crimes that were happening around the country,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and committee chairman.
Democrats saw the nomination as a reflection on the president and said Mr. Blanche had amassed an “avalanche of misconduct” in defense of Mr. Trump.
“He is about Trump, not truth,” said Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat. “This is so deeply wrong. We will rue the day we let this man have this much power under a corrupt president.”
The vote turned into a referendum on Mr. Trump’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which he sought to create as part of a settlement in his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the leak of his tax information.
Mr. Blanche signed off on the fund, as well as an immunity deal covering past tax audits and investigations involving Mr. Trump and two of his sons, and later declared the fund dead.
Mr. Trump complicated matters by countering Mr. Blanche’s assertions, saying the fund should be revived. That left even Republicans concerned and demanding Mr. Blanche take firmer steps to squelch the fund.
The dust-up forced the cancellation of a committee vote last week, with several Republicans refusing to commit to Mr. Blanche.
After days of wrangling, Mr. Blanche issued memos Sunday rescinding the fund and clarifying the scope of Mr. Trump’s tax immunity deal.
That was good enough to sway the Republican holdouts, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
“It’s done, it’s been rescinded, and I am satisfied,” Mr. Tillis said before giving his support to Mr. Blanche.
Democrats, though, said the memos do not go far enough to kill the fund. They fear Mr. Trump will find a way to revive it.
They said the original deal Mr. Blanche struck would be disqualifying.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, noted that a federal judge in Florida ruled that the Justice Department colluded with the president to create the fund without court scrutiny. The judge called it “fraud” perpetrated on her court.
“In the history of the Department of Justice, no senior official has ever been even accused of a fraud upon the court. And we’re advancing this guy before that question is settled?” Mr. Whitehouse said.
Republicans have a narrow majority and will need almost all party members’ support to overcome what is expected to be total opposition from Democrats.
That margin slimmed Tuesday afternoon when Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, said she would oppose Mr. Blanche. She cited some of the same reasons as Democrats, including his handling of the weaponization fund and the immunity deal on tax matters.
Given the ongoing absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Republicans can afford to lose only one more vote to secure confirmation.
Mr. Blanche, 51, was not present for Tuesday’s action, but he did appear before the committee last month to face questions.
He served as Mr. Trump’s defense attorney in between the two Trump administrations and was then tapped to be deputy attorney general in the new term.
He won confirmation to that post in March 2025 on a 52-46 party-line vote. He has been acting attorney general since April.
Democrats cited a long list of reasons they opposed him, including questions about his handling of an FBI investigation into White House border czar Tom Homan, the Justice Department’s prosecution of Trump opponents such as former FBI Director James B. Comey and the departure of a quarter of the department’s personnel over the past 18 months.
However, the weaponization fund and the Epstein files were the biggest battlegrounds.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said Mr. Blanche did not do enough to shield sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s victims’ identities from being revealed in the release of the Epstein files.
Mr. Durbin said Mr. Blanche has not done enough to meet with the victims to determine whether there are leads to pursue for further prosecution.
“Todd Blanche has no business serving as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer,” Mr. Durbin said.
Mr. Whitehouse said Mr. Blanche was shielding 37 pages of Epstein documents that appear to address unsubstantiated allegations about Mr. Trump’s involvement with Epstein.
Mr. Whitehouse said Mr. Blanche’s tenure has been characterized by “general dishonesty and incompetence.”
Sen. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat, said underlying all the complaints was Mr. Blanche’s fealty to the president.
“He has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump,” Mr. Schiff said.
Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat who also opposed Mr. Blanche, made clear the vote was largely symbolic.
“If we rejected Todd Blanche, that corrupt president would find a new Todd Blanche,” he said.
Indeed, even without the nomination, Mr. Blanche could continue serving as acting attorney general — a prospect Mr. Trump teased during his dust-up with Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis.
The president even suggested pulling the nomination until the two senators leave at the end of this Congress, before reviving it next year.
Mr. Cornyn rejected that idea Tuesday, saying the department needs a permanent leader at the helm.
“The Department of Justice does not need a temporary unconfirmed nominee as our nation’s top law enforcement officer,” Mr. Cornyn said. “Donald Trump needs someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind, but who also is close enough to him to give him confidential legal advice, to tell him hard truths.”
Ultimately, Mr. Cornyn said, it is up to Mr. Trump whether to follow that advice.
“He was elected president of the United States and not me,” the senator said.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.