Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination passes first test, now faces full Senate vote

Ben Wieder, Los Angeles Times on Aug 4, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Todd Blanche cleared the first hurdle Tuesday on his path to confirmation as attorney general, setting the stage for a vote by the full Senate this week as Republicans race to shore up support among three potential holdouts in their party.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12 to 10 along party lines to advance his nomination, days after the vote was delayed by the concerns of Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina about a settlement President Trump reached earlier this year with the Internal Revenue Service.

Blanche provided written assurance Sunday that a nearly $1.8-billion "anti-weaponization" fund created as part of the settlement was dead and that tax audit immunity granted to the president, two of his sons and their business as part of the settlement would be constrained.

That was enough to persuade Cornyn and Tillis to sign on, but both still voiced some reservations about Blanche's ability to stand up to Trump, who is his former legal client.

"I would advise Mr. Blanche not to be afraid to capitalize on that earned trust when necessary for the good of the country," Cornyn said before Tuesday's vote.

Democrats on the committee all opposed Blanche's nomination and expressed apprehension that the controversial fund, which was expected to provide payouts to some of the people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, could still return in another form later.

"The president himself has largely telegraphed that's his plan," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the top Democrat on the committee.

Now all attention will be trained on three potential Republican holdouts in the Senate: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. None of the three have said yet how they plan to vote and their offices did not respond to requests for comment.

The earliest the Senate could vote to confirm Blanche under Senate rules would be Saturday, unless Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., strikes a deal with Democrats to vote earlier. Senators are scheduled to leave Washington in the coming days for their annual five-week August recess.

Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber, but the ongoing absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., means that they can afford to lose only two votes, assuming all Democrats oppose Blanche's nomination.

Blanche became acting attorney general in April after Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi was fired. Blanche was confirmed last year as the deputy attorney general.

He could continue to serve as acting attorney general even if not confirmed, but the Trump administration would then be blocked from appointing a new deputy attorney general.

During his confirmation hearing last month, senators questioned Blanche about the department's handling of the release of files about deceased sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein — a process Bondi said he oversaw — and his independence from Trump, who he represented as a personal criminal defense attorney before taking office.

Blanche didn't do himself any favors when he accidentally referred to himself as Trump's attorney, before clarifying that he used to be his attorney.

"He has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump," said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Tuesday before the committee vote.

Blanche was also questioned about some of the department's actions taken against Trump's opponents.

On Tuesday, Tillis expressed outrage over the case brought against former FBI Director James Comey over his post on social media of a picture of seashells arranged to spell "86 47." The image could be interpreted to mean remove Trump, but federal prosecutors in Tillis' home state of North Carolina have argued that it was a threat to the president's life.

"Some bonehead in North Carolina thinks that's a crime," Tillis said. "Well they better damn sure have information to back it up. Because if all it is is a picture, that person should lose their job."

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