After weeks of uncertainty, Todd Blanche was confirmed as U.S.attorney general early Saturday in a mostly party-line vote.Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, was confirmed by a vote of 50-49, with only two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting against him.The vote was held after 4 a.m.
on Saturday, as a late-night session ran over into the early hours ahead of a planned Senate recess.His confirmation had been in jeopardy, largely over concerns about his handling of the so-called anti-weaponization fund, which was established in connection with a purported settlement between private citizen Trump and the federal government he now controls.That fund could have been used to give money to Trump allies who claimed they were victims of government overreach, including people who were charged in connection with the Jan.
6, 2021, Capitol attack.Blanche had also signed off on another part of the deal that gave Trump, his family members and his businesses immunity from tax audits.Two Republican senators opposed Blanche’s nomination, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, along with all Democrats.
Earlier Republican holdouts, Sens.Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, ultimately said they would back Blanche after receiving various assurances from the nominee, including an order rescinding the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
(A legal loophole could still revive the fund, however).Lawmakers from both parties had also expressed discomfort that Blanche’s personal history with the president could affect his ability to run an independent Justice Department.“The problem with confirming Todd Blanche is that he has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump.He just can’t do it,” Sen.
Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote advancing Blanche’s nomination.“He will nev...