Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General has been dealt a major blow ahead of his confirmation vote.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has said she intends to stand in the way of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation.
The senator from Alaska joins Sen. Susan Collins as the pair aim to torpedo the president’s top choice to replace Pam Bondi. Sen. Bill Cassidy, from Louisiana, has not revealed how he intends to vote.
If those three senators vote against Trump’s former defense attorney, the Republicans will be left relying on Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is still absent following his extended hospitalization.
In a post on X, Murkowski said, “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.
“The politicization—even weaponization—of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it,” Murkowski said in her statement. “I take issue with the handling of the release of the Epstein files; the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses; the statements that have been made to anti-abortion groups; and the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. Senators.”
Blanche’s jeopardy is only heightened by Cassidy, who lost his primary race after Trump endorsed his opponent.
“I’ve got to be convinced that he is an attorney general who just happens to have once been President Trump’s personal attorney, as opposed to President Trump’s personal attorney who is now the attorney general,” Cassidy previously told Sirius XM.
“I think there’s a big difference between the two.”
The disappearance of 84-year-old McConnell has sparked a panic amongst congressional Republicans.
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville urged him to come back before the August 8 recess, after which Congress will not return until September 14.
“We’re gonna need him because the Democrats’ not gonna give us any votes,” he said three weeks ago.
But Trump has suggested that even if the Senate confirmation falls apart, Blanche will remain in his post as acting AG.
“If they don’t agree to do what they should do, it’d be very sad, and we’ll all survive. Todd will survive,” he told Punchbowl News.
Asked specifically if he would keep him in on an acting role, he said, “We’ll try it again.”
Blanche has already dodged one bullet after Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis hit reverse on their threat to break party lines.
Tillis and Cornyn, who also lost his primary to a Trump-backed candidate, said they would block Blanche if he didn’t promise to kill a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could have been used to fund the president’s allies. Blanche then put into writing that the DOJ is scrapping the fund.
