An effort is quietly underway inside one of Washington’s most exclusive institutions to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from joining its ranks.
Blanche began the application process last year to join the Metropolitan Club, a historic enclave of political and business elites.
But at least six members have formally objected, arguing that the Trump ally is too divisive for the exclusive club.
The club—long regarded as a social hub for senior political, legal, and financial figures in the capital—requires multiple sponsors and written support from existing members. While many applicants are ultimately approved, the process can take a year or longer and is not guaranteed.
Multiple members are attempting to block Blanche’s membership over concerns that he has politicized the Justice Department, according to Politico.
Since returning to power, President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive legal and political strategy that critics say aims to investigate or prosecute perceived adversaries across government, media, and private institutions.
That includes FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, among others.
Blanche, a longtime Trump ally and former defense attorney, has been central to executing that agenda.
“He is targeting a lot of people, and the Justice Department is targeting a lot of the members of the club, like judges, nonprofit organizations and universities,” one member told Politico.
Another critic described Blanche’s stance on using the Justice Department against perceived enemies as “pretty startling,” noting the club includes judges and institutional leaders who could take offense.
Outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is a member of the club. The Justice Department was investigating Powell over alleged building cost overruns, but the investigation was dropped on Friday.
Powell and Trump have frequently clashed. Trump has called Powell a “numbskull,” a “major loser” and “very incompetent,” while Powell has accused the Trump administration of trying to bully the Fed into lowering interest rates.
The application process for membership typically requires two sponsors and at least eight letters of support from current members.
While many applicants eventually gain entry, some high-profile figures have been turned away, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Blanche’s sponsors include Bill Burck, global co-managing partner at Quinn Emanuel, and James M. McDonald, a litigation partner at Sullivan & Cromwell.
Some members have expressed fears that Blanche’s potential membership is a sign that the club’s traditional standards are eroding.
“I am disappointed that the club’s standards are slipping on so many levels and can only hope that the club leadership will recover, grab the rudder and set us on a smooth sail once again,” a third member told Politico.
“The Trump administration is at war with most American institutions, and so the people who represent those institutions, many of them are at the club,” another member added.
“And the club is the kind of place where you want to be able to relax and have a congenial conversation. But if he’s in there, given that the Justice Department is so combative and aggressive, this is not the kind of tone that we want.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
Blanche has been a major ally of Trump. He previously served as lead defense counsel for Trump in multiple prosecutions, including the Manhattan “hush money” case and federal investigations brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Following Trump’s return to office, Blanche was elevated into the upper ranks of the Justice Department, first as deputy attorney general and later as acting attorney general.
He was one of the guests at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, where he appeared to be wearing a clip-on bow tie and an ill-fitting dinner jacket.
During the event, Donald and Melania Trump, as well as top Cabinet officials, were abruptly evacuated after shots rang out outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton.
The suspected gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was stopped after rushing past a security checkpoint armed with two firearms and multiple knives.
Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press that officials believe the suspect was targeting members of the Trump administration.
