{"id":5035,"date":"2026-07-15T23:34:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5035"},"modified":"2026-07-15T23:34:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:34:43","slug":"blanche-faces-crucial-hurdle-after-rocky-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5035","title":{"rendered":"Blanche faces crucial hurdle after rocky hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>WASHINGTON \u2014 The fate of Todd Blanche\u2019s nomination as attorney general remained uncertain Wednesday after a rocky confirmation hearing in which a Republican senator raised serious questions about his role in creating a $1.8 billion fund for purported victims of Justice Department persecution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5034\">House Republicans unveil a $95 billion plan for the Iran war, farm aid, and elections<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The senator, John Cornyn of Texas, who was defeated by a Trump-backed opponent in a primary election, grilled Blanche about the fund and a related agreement granting President Trump and his family sweeping immunity from tax investigations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Cornyn, a former judge, displayed text of the tax provision on a poster behind him and noted that Trump \u201chas not agreed in writing\u201d to nixing the fund.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>After the hearing, he said he had not made up his mind. \u201cI don\u2019t have to make a decision now, so I\u2019m not,\u201d he said during a brief interview at the Capitol.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Even a single Republican \u201cno\u201d vote on the Judiciary Committee would block Blanche\u2019s nomination from full consideration by the Senate, which could sink his confirmation. A second lame-duck Republican on the committee, Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, is also undecided but has said he is leaning toward voting \u201cyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>The unusual two-part deal approved by Blanche, intended to resolve Trump\u2019s lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion from the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, emerged as a major issue in a confirmation already clouded by questions about Blanche. As a top Justice Department official, he has had a role in protecting the president\u2019s interests in the Jeffrey Epstein case and complying with Trump-ordered investigations of political opponents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is not clear when the committee will schedule a vote. First, Republicans must find a replacement for Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, whose death over the weekend cast a shadow on the proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blanche, a former Trump defense lawyer, has served as acting attorney general since the president fired his predecessor, Pam Bondi, in April for not moving quickly enough to prosecute his perceived enemies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Defying a president\u2019s choice for such an important position would be an extraordinary gesture of defiance, even from a senator, like Cornyn, on his way out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Justice Department officials have expressed confidence that Blanche will, ultimately, have the votes in the committee and the Senate at large. After he concluded his appearance, he walked back to a legislative conference room where the din of cheers and applause could be heard through an open door.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blanche\u2019s confirmation is somewhat symbolic. He could serve in an acting capacity for the remainder of Trump\u2019s term. But the referendum on Blanche is in a broader sense one on the president\u2019s vision of the department as a projection of his power and extension of his will.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It would be the capstone of a career that a few years ago seemed destined to be confined to the middle rungs of the New York-area legal community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5032\">George Santos\u2019 next gig? Reality TV show contestant.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Before joining the president\u2019s legal team a few years ago, Blanche earned a reputation as a highly competent federal prosecutor in the Manhattan US attorney\u2019s office. Democrats turned that perception against him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and a former federal prosecutor whom Trump has targeted for prosecution, accused Blanche of abandoning his ethical principles to serve his boss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhat happened to the Todd Blanche who was a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhat happened to the prosecutor people had respect for?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blanche, riled up, demanded the right to respond. \u201cI am still here \u2014 I am the same exact person I was when I was a federal prosecutor,\u201d he said, adding that his personal credo was \u201cDo the right thing, enforce the laws and put bad guys in jail.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blanche, typically a cautious and well-prepared congressional witness, made a significant unforced error that could fuel Democrats\u2019 criticism of him as a Trump loyalist who has continued to act as the president\u2019s personal lawyer in a post that requires a commitment to independence in the public interest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican known for his folksy asides, asked Blanche what seemed to be a softball question: Did he consider the president to be his friend?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m his lawyer,\u201d Blanche replied, instantly correcting himself to add \u201cwas his lawyer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, asked Blanche whether Trump was eligible to run again in 2028, Blanche replied, \u201cI don\u2019t believe he is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Later, under questioning from a Democrat on the committee, Blanche maintained that he was unafraid to push back against Trump and prided himself on offering dispassionate legal counsel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCounsel does not mean yes-man,\u201d said Blanche, craning forward in the witness chair in a dark navy suit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5030\">Graham Platner\u2019s collapse underscores Elizabeth Warren\u2019s endorsement woes in key Senate races<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>This article originally appeared in The New York Times.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fate of Todd Blanche&#8217;s nomination as attorney general remained uncertain Wednesday after a rocky confirmation hearing in which a Republican senator raised serious questions about his role in creating a $1.8 billion fund for purported victims of Justice Department persecution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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