Senators probe attorney general nominee on loyalty to Trump

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The Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Wednesday began its nomination hearing for Todd Blanche to be attorney general of the United States. Blanche, a former attorney for President Donald Trump, fielded sharp questions from both sides of the aisle on the Epstein file redactions, the settlement in Trump vs. Internal Revenue Service, the mail-order of abortion pills, and Trump’s pardon of Jan. 6 rioters.

What are Blanche’s qualifications for the role? Senator John Kennedy, R-La., preceded his questions with an assessment of Blanche’s record, saying, “No fair-minded person could conclude that you're not qualified.” Blanche’s résumé includes 15 years in the U.S. Department of Justice and time spent as a defense attorney for Trump. Committee members appeared in consensus on the point of qualification, but doubled down on questions surrounding Blanche’s allegiances to Trump.

When Sen. Kennedy inquired whether Blanche considered Trump a friend, the nominee responded, “I’m his lawyer—was his lawyer, and now I’m the deputy attorney general. I met him as his criminal defense attorney. I’m not sure there’s very many people who have ever had a criminal defense attorney who calls that person their friend.”

Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, praised the Department of Justice’s current operations as a “record of success” while Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. said, “This seems to be the most troubled Department of Justice in history.”

What happens next? Blanche’s Judiciary Hearing is scheduled to continue on Thursday. The committee will vote on whether to recommend the nominee to the full Senate after the hearing is complete. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., presented a stack of questions on constitutional oversight that he requested Blanche answer before the vote to confirm his appointment. Following the recent death of Senate Judiciary majority member Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the ratio of Republican to Democratic committee members is now 11-10, meaning that Blanche needs to either receive every GOP vote or wrangle across-the-aisle support.

Dig Deeper: Read Travis K. Kircher’s report on the sudden passing of GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Joanna Insco

Joanna is a political reporter for WORLD and a graduate of the World Journalism Institute and Marymount Manhattan College. She resides in Washington, D.C.