Senate Judiciary Panel Advances Blanche's AG Nomination After Concessions on Trump Deals

Todd Blanche cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday with a 12-10 party-line vote, moving his nomination for attorney general to the full Senate floor. The path to this moment required him to make significant concessions to two skeptical Republicans whose votes were essential to his advancement.

Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, faced sustained opposition over two controversial initiatives tied to President Trump. The first was an $1.8 billion fund designed to compensate people who claimed they were targeted by federal agencies for political reasons—what the administration called an "anti-weaponization" program. The second was a settlement agreement with the IRS that would grant Trump immunity from audits and investigations related to his prior tax returns. Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had made clear these arrangements troubled them enough to potentially block his nomination.

Late Sunday, after weeks of negotiation, Blanche issued a formal order rescinding the weaponization fund entirely. He also clarified that the tax immunity provision applies only to Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization, and covers only audits of previous years' returns. These written commitments proved decisive. By Monday, both Cornyn and Tillis announced they were "pleased" with the formal order and would support advancing Blanche's nomination. "We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this," the two senators said in a joint statement.

During the committee hearing, Cornyn emphasized that Blanche represented a stabilizing force the Justice Department needed. "The department does not need a temporary, unconfirmed nominee as our nation's top law enforcement officer," he said. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, called the senators' demands "just common sense" and criticized how long it had taken to secure the clarifications. "Today, I'm not only voting to advance Todd Blanche's nomination, I'm voting for the safety of the American people," Grassley said.

Democrats offered a starkly different assessment. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee's top Democrat, argued that Blanche "has no business" leading the Justice Department. He accused the acting attorney general of reshaping the department by firing longtime officials and replacing them with what he called "unqualified MAGA loyalists." Durbin pointed out that the new orders regarding the IRS settlement are not signed by the parties involved—Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization—making them legally unenforceable. He warned that the president and his sons could still sue to enforce the original terms and that the weaponization fund could be revived shortly after Blanche's confirmation. "His word is not enough for most, not even for some of my Republican friends," Durbin said. One Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, has already committed to voting against Blanche, citing both the fund and other actions she believes have made the Justice Department "increasingly political."

Blanche's path to confirmation now depends on the full Senate, where Republicans control the chamber but can afford only two or three defections, depending on whether Senator Mitch McConnell remains absent. A simple majority is required. The outcome remains uncertain, though Blanche's success in the committee suggests he has the votes to clear this hurdle as well.

Underlying the confirmation debate is a separate controversy that has shadowed Blanche throughout the process. When he served as deputy attorney general, the Justice Department released more than three million pages of documents from its investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The disclosure was required by federal law, but some records contained survivors' unredacted names and personal information. Blanche acknowledged "mistakes" were made in failing to shield survivors' identities. Survivors of Epstein's sex-trafficking operation met with Blanche and subsequently urged Cornyn and Tillis to vote against him, saying he "showed no remorse" for the exposure of their identities and gave no indication he would pursue accountability beyond Epstein and Maxwell themselves. Blanche also conducted a two-day interview with Maxwell last year, shortly before she was transferred from a low-security facility in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.