The Senate Judiciary Committee gave its blessing Tuesday for Todd Blanche to be the new attorney general, brushing aside vicious denunciations by Democrats and sending the nomination to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote this week.
Republicans powered the pick through on a 12-10 vote, saying President Trump deserved to have his man in office — particularly since Mr. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general for four months after the ouster of Pam Bondi.
“Todd Blanche’s Justice Department has reprioritized the safety of Americans after the Biden administration opened the borders to violent criminals and then turned a blind eye to the heinous crimes that were happening around the country,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican and chairman of the committee.
Democrats, though, saw the nomination as a reflection on the president — and said Mr. Blanche has amassed an “avalanche of misconduct” in defense of Mr. Trump.
“He is about Trump, not truth,” said Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat. “This is so deeply wrong. We will rue the day we let this man have this much power under a corrupt president.”
Tuesday’s vote turned into a referendum on Mr. Trump’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which he sought to create as part of a settlement in his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for allowing his secret tax information to be leaked.
Mr. Blanche signed off on the fund, plus on an immunity deal for Mr. Trump and two of his sons for past tax arrears — then tried to bury the fund as dead.
Mr. Trump complicated matters, countering Mr. Blanche’s assertions by saying the fund should be revived. That left even Republicans concerned and demanding Mr. Blanche take firmer steps to squelch the fund.
The dust-up forced cancellation of a committee vote last week, with several Republicans refusing to commit to Mr. Blanche.
After days of wrangling, Mr. Blanche on Sunday issued new memos rescinding the fund and clarifying the extent of the tax immunity deal for Mr. Trump.
That was good enough to sway the GOP holdouts, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
“It’s done, it’s been rescinded, and I am satisfied,” Mr. Tillis said before giving his support to Mr. Blanche on Tuesday.
Democrats, though, said the new memos don’t go far enough to kill the fund. They fear Mr. Trump will find a way to revive it.
And they said the original deal Mr. Blanche struck was so bad as to be disqualifying.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, pointed to a federal judge in Florida who has accused Mr. Blanche’s Justice Department of colluding with the president to create the fund without court scrutiny. She called it a potential “fraud” perpetrated on her court.
“In the history of the Department of Justice, no senior official has ever been even accused of a fraud upon the court. And we’re advancing this guy before that question is settled?” Mr. Whitehouse said.
Republicans have a narrow majority and will need almost all of their members’ support to overcome what is expected to be total opposition from Democrats.
That margin slimmed Tuesday afternoon when Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, said she’ll oppose Mr. Blanche. She cited some of the same reasons as Democrats, including his handling of the weaponization fund and immunity from tax crimes.
Given Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s ongoing absence, Republicans can lose only one more member if they want to guarantee confirmation.
Mr. Blanche, 51, was not present for Tuesday’s action, but he did appear before the committee last month to face questions.
He served as Mr. Trump’s defense lawyer in between the two Trump administrations, then was tapped to be deputy attorney general in the new term.
He won confirmation to that post in March 2025 on a 52-46 party-line vote. He’s been acting attorney general since April.
Democrats ticked off a massive list of reasons they were angry at him, including questions about his handling of an FBI investigation into White House border czar Tom Homan, the DOJ’s prosecution of Trump opponents such as former FBI Director Jim Comey, and the departure of a quarter of the department’s personnel over the past 18 months.
But the weaponization fund and the Epstein files were the biggest battlegrounds Tuesday.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, said Mr. Blanche didn’t do enough to shield sex offender Jeffrey Epstein victims’ identities from being revealed in the release of the Epstein files.
And the Illinois senator said Mr. Blanche hasn’t done enough to meet with the victims to see if there are leads that should be pursued for further prosecutions.
“Todd Blanche has no business serving as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer,” Mr. Durbin said.
Mr. Whitehouse said Mr. Blanche was shielding 37 pages of Epstein documents that appear to address unsubstantiated allegations about Mr. Trump’s involvement with Epstein.
The Rhode Island senator said Mr. Blanche’s tenure has been characterized by “general dishonesty and incompetence.”
Sen. Adam Schiff, California Democrat, said underlying all the complaints was Mr. Blanche’s fealty to the president.
“He has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump,” the senator said.
Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat who also opposed Mr. Blanche, made clear the vote was largely symbolic.
“If we rejected Todd Blanche, that corrupt president would find a new Todd Blanche,” he said.
Indeed, even without the nomination, Mr. Blanche could continue serving as acting attorney general — a prospect Mr. Trump teased during his dust-up with Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis.
The president at one point even suggested he could pull the nomination and wait until the two senators departed at the end of this Congress, then revive Mr. Blanche’s nomination next year.
But Mr. Cornyn on Tuesday said the department needs a full attorney general at the helm.
“The Department of Justice does not need a temporary unconfirmed nominee as our nation’s top law enforcement officer,” the senator said. “Donald Trump needs someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind, but who also is close enough to him to give him confidential legal advice, to tell him hard truths.”
Ultimately, Mr. Cornyn said, it’s up to Mr. Trump whether to follow that advice.
“He was elected president of the United States and not me,” the senator said.
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