GOP senator deals crushing blow to Trump's AG nominee after Alaska lobbying blitz

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche just lost the last little bit of cushion he had left to survive confirmation.Sen.Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced that she would not support Blanche’s nomination to be the nation’s top prosecutor and law enforcement official, dealing another blow to his rocky confirmation process.Her defection, despite a heavy lobbying effort by Blanche that saw him make the trek to Alaska, means that Senate Republican leadership can’t afford to lose anymore votes to get him across the finish line, given that Sen.

Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., though now back home, has still not returned to the Senate.COLLINS DROPS THE HAMMER ON TRUMP'S PICK TO LEAD DOJ, JEOPARDIZING PATH TO CONFIRMATIONSenator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, speaks to members of the media following a vote outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Friday, Oct.3, 2025.

(Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)Murkowski acknowledged Blanche’s visit to Alaska and heavy lobbying effort throughout the last few weeks, but it’s his connection to President Donald Trump’s nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, and broader concerns of a weaponized Justice Department, that proved the nail in the coffin for her."The politicization — even weaponization — of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it," Murkowski said in a statement."I take issue with the handling of the release of the Epstein files; the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses; the statements that have been made to anti-abortion groups; and the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S.

Senators.""I am also keenly aware that the Department’s nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund—which likely would have rewarded January 6 protesters—is only off the table because this nomination is pending and the Senate has leverage," she continued."Once we vote, that will end, and ther...