T. Blanche will face tough questions from Democrats and possibly some Republicans when he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It would take just one Republican vote “no” in this committee to derail the 51-year-old T. Blanche’s nomination as the top U.S. law enforcement official.
T. Blanche has been acting Attorney General since D. Trump fired Pam Bondi, and is closely associated with what Democrats call the Republican president’s campaign of revenge against his perceived political enemies.
Former FBI Director James Comey, a vocal critic of D. Trump, is among those targeted by the Justice Department under T. Blanche’s leadership. J. Comey was charged in April for allegedly threatening D. Trump’s life in an Instagram post.
T. Blanche also controversially defended a $1.8 billion fund for D. Trump’s political allies and an agreement that shielded the president from audits of his past tax returns.
The administration later abandoned plans to create what Democrats condemned as a “secret fund,” and a federal judge on Monday overturned the agreement with the Internal Revenue Service.
T. Blanche also faced criticism from Jeffrey Epstein’s victims over how he handled the Justice Department’s investigation materials about the convicted sex offender, who was once a close friend of D. Trump, being made public.
“Under Blanche’s leadership, the Justice Department disclosed personal information of Epstein’s victims, including their names, phone numbers, and home addresses, while many names of suspected rapists and other influential individuals connected to Epstein remained redacted,” their statement said.
D. Trump defended T. Blanche on Tuesday in a post on the social network “Truth Social,” saying he is doing a “phenomenal job” fighting crime as acting Attorney General and that “every Republican senator” should vote to confirm him permanently.
“Corrupt goals”
Before joining the Justice Department last year, T. Blanche represented D. Trump in his New York court case over the alleged “hush money” payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
He also worked on the legal defense team in two federal cases brought against D. Trump by special prosecutor Jack Smith – for alleged mishandling of classified documents and for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Both cases were dropped after D. Trump won the 2024 presidential election.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on Monday in the Senate chamber urging fellow lawmakers to oppose T. Blanche’s nomination.
T. Blanche’s “number one client” was D. Trump, said Ch. Schumer, but “as Attorney General your number one client should be the United States of America.”
“Blanche has dedicated his career to serving Donald Trump and especially his corrupt goals,” said the senator from New York. “Blanche has persecuted Trump’s enemies, covered up Trump’s crimes, and protected Trump from consequences.”
Republicans hold the majority in the Senate committee, but at least two Republicans – outgoing Senator Thomas Tillis and Senator John Cornyn, who lost the primary to a Trump-backed opponent – have expressed concerns about T. Blanche’s nomination.
More than 1,200 former Justice Department employees signed a letter opposing T. Blanche’s nomination, citing his role in firing hundreds of career officials and sowing a “culture of fear” among staff.
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