Todd Blanche’s Prospects in the Senate Remain Tepid, but Not Doomed, Ahead of Confirmation Hearing

As President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General, Todd Blanche’s prospects in the Senate remain tepid, but far from doomed, ahead of his confirmation hearing next month.

Top Republican senators who could make or break Blanche’s nomination have reserved judgment so far, but none have indicated they plan to vote against his confirmation.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who has distanced himself from Trump following his bruising primary loss to state Attorney General Ken Paxton, met with Blanche and said the nominee had answered his questions.

However, Cornyn was cagey when asked where he stood following the meeting. ‘I’m going to make a decision after the nomination hearing,’ he said.

Texas Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted that he had a ‘positive’ interview with Blanche and that the would-be Attorney General had ‘committed to further briefing’ on a recent settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service over the 2019 leak of his tax returns.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis also signaled that Blanche had not crossed one of his key red lines: support for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. ‘I haven’t seen anything that, from a Jan. 6 perspective, would be a problem,’ Tillis said.

Tillis has previously stood in the way of some Trump nominees over their stance on the Capitol riot. But he has also shown a willingness to bend his red line, voting last summer to confirm Third Circuit nominee Emil Bove despite comments that Jan. 6 prosecutions were a ‘grave national injustice’.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley offered his own endorsement of Blanche after meeting with the nominee on Monday afternoon.

‘I appreciated the opportunity to sit down again with Todd Blanche, who’s spent the last year and a half supporting President Trump’s mission of law and order as Deputy Attorney General and now Acting Attorney General,’ Grassley said in a statement.

‘Blanche is prepared to build on that success and continue working hard to keep American families safe as the next Attorney General,’ the Iowa senator added.

Blanche’s nomination hearing was scheduled for July 15, roughly a month from now. The acting Attorney General on Tuesday submitted his first set of required paperwork to the Judiciary Committee.