President Donald Trump has celebrated the confirmation of his appointee by skewering a Republican senator who dared oppose him.
Trump, 80, took aim at Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski for not voting to confirm Todd Blanche, who was narrowly confirmed as attorney general by the Senate early Saturday morning.
Senators voted 50-49, with Murkowski and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine joining all Democrats in opposing Blanche’s nomination to become the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
Trump took swipes at Murkowski on his Truth Social page, reposting a MAGA supporter’s take that read, “Lisa Murkowski will not vote for Todd Blanche... After having no problem voting for Merrick Garland. Claiming Blanche will weaponize the DOJ and is too political. The same Garland that personally signed off on the raid of President Trump’s home. Murkowski is owned.”
“Traitor,” the post concluded.
In another post, an image of Murkowski was placed next to an old clip of Garland, the attorney general of the Biden administration, saying that he “personally authorized” a search warrant for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. That raid was part of a probe into whether Trump improperly removed and retained classified government records when he left office.
Murkowski’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday, the 69-year-old senator said she had “numerous constructive meetings” with Blanche in which he came across as “decent and capable.”
But that didn’t mean she would support the nomination of the former Trump lawyer.
“The politicization—even weaponization—of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it,” Murkowski said in a statement. Backing up her decision, she cited Blanche’s bungling of the Epstein files, the immunity protections granted to Trump, his family, and their businesses, as well as Blanche’s statements against anti-abortion groups and the “repeated targeting” of several individuals.
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case,” she said.
Blanche faced an uphill battle to be confirmed but was bailed out by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who cleared the path for him on Friday by announcing he would vote in his favor. Though the Louisiana lawmaker acknowledged that Blanche was “not perfect” and had at times shown “poor judgment,” he said the vote is “not a referendum on President Trump.”
