NewzDonald Trump’s former defense lawyer confirmed by 50 votes to 49 early on Saturday morning, with senators deferring action on president’s voting bill until after recessTodd Blanche faced heavy criticism for the department’s sloppy rollout of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which redacted information that should not have been redacted and left unredacted the names of victims that should have been kept private.During his confirmation hearing, Blanche refused to personally meet with Epstein victims, then agreed to do so. The survivors said they received few answers from Blanche during the meeting.Mr Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr Blanche.It is between Mr Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr Blanche. Republican-controlled Senate approves nomination 50-49 despite Democratic warnings over politicization of Justice Department after controversial fund proposal The post US Senate confirms Trump former lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general appeared first on The Times of Israel.
The Republican-led Senate voted 50-49 to make Todd Blanche the second confirmed attorney general since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year with a stated desire to use the law enforcement agency to investigate his political enemies Democrats opposed Todd Blanche from the beginning, accusing Trump of turning the Department of Justice into a political weapon. The Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as the next attorney general early Saturday, capping a tumultuous path to office for President Trump's former personal attorney.The big picture: Blanche's appointment is a win for the Trump administration, especially after a journey that saw some Republicans hold out at multiple stages of the process.At one point Trump threatened to keep him as acting attorney general for months, after two GOP senators withheld their votes to advance him from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) both eventually supported Blanche's advancement after Blanche confirmed that a controversial $1.776 billion fund to pay out perceived victims of political weaponization was dead.Driving the news: The pre-dawn vote was split 50-49, mostly along party lines. Every Democratic member present voted against the Trump nominee, joined by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine).
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was not present amid a lengthy health-related absence.Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was broadly seen as Democrats' best shot at blocking Blanche's nomination, but he announced Friday that he'd vote in favor of the president's former personal attorney.Blanche has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since this spring.State of play: Blanche will now formally take over the post held by Pam Bondi before she was pushed out. With Blanche as acting attorney general, the DOJ has continued its unconventionally close alignment with the White House, renewing attempts to prosecute individuals in line with the president's wishes.Friction point: While Blanche won over Republican defectors on the controversial fund, he's continued to face sharp criticism from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — stemming from another controversy that threatened to derail his nomination.Tillis had given Blanche another mandate to earn his vote: meeting with Epstein victims.
Blanche did so, but multiple survivors publicly panned the meeting as demoralizing and unproductive.The bottom line: Not much changes with "acting" dropped from Blanche's title. But his confirmation represents the official start of an aggressive new era for the DOJ.Go deeper: Blanche poised for confirmation vote after he kills Trump's fund President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche was confirmed as US attorney general on Saturday after Senate Republicans shrugged off Democratic concerns over politicization of the Justice Department.
Blanche, who has already been serving as the top US law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, represented Trump as his private attorney in several criminal trials before entering government. The Senate, which Republicans narrowly control, confirmed him by 50 votes to 49. Trump, who has upended US political norms by seeking to bring nominally independent government agencies under his increasingly direct control, calls Blanche a “star.” Democrats opposed Blanche from the beginning, accusing Trump of turning the Department of Justice into a political weapon.
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