Todd Blanche Senate confirmation moves to full Senate after committee vote
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced acting Attorney General Todd Blanche 12-10, leaving a full Senate vote as his next hurdle.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
Todd Blanche’s Senate confirmation process moved forward Tuesday after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to advance President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee to the full Senate. For readers following the Justice Department, the vote is a major procedural step, but Blanche has not been confirmed and still needs enough support on the Senate floor.
Blanche is serving as acting attorney general and previously represented Trump personally. The committee vote split along party lines, with every Republican voting to advance the nomination and every Democrat voting against it, according to CNBC.
What happens next in Todd Blanche’s Senate confirmation?
The full Senate must hold a confirmation vote before Blanche can become attorney general. CNBC reported that he needs 50 votes to win confirmation.
Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is in an extended medical absence, CNBC reported. Under that count, Blanche could lose two Republican votes and still be confirmed. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine had not committed to supporting him, according to CNBC.
A Senate committee’s role is to review a nominee and decide whether to send the nomination to the full chamber. C-SPAN described Tuesday’s proceeding as a vote on advancing Blanche for a final Senate confirmation vote, rather than the final decision itself.
Why did Republican holdouts back Blanche?
The committee vote followed an agreement with Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C. The two Republicans had withheld support while seeking written confirmation that a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund would not go forward, CNBC and the Associated Press reported.
AP reporting published by PBS said the proposed fund was intended to compensate Trump allies who believed they had faced politically motivated prosecutions. Blanche issued an order Sunday stating that there was no fund, according to the AP report.
The order said no members had been appointed, no money had been transferred, no claims process had been created and no claims had been paid since the related IRS settlement was announced, the AP reported. Cornyn and Tillis said they were satisfied that the program had been ended, CNBC reported.
Democrats remained opposed. They argued that Blanche’s order did not provide enough protection against a future revival of the fund and raised broader concerns about the Justice Department’s independence under his leadership, according to the AP and CNBC. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called documents posted by Blanche a “sham” and “a fraud on the Congress,” CNBC reported.
The floor vote will determine whether Blanche moves from acting attorney general to the permanent post. Until then, Tuesday’s committee action remains an advancement of the nomination, not a final confirmation.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
