Todd Blanche’s attorney general bid for the Justice Department came under renewed strain on Friday as Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said she would oppose him, even as Senator Bill Cassidy announced he would support President Trump’s pick. The split left Blanche’s path to confirmation uncertain for hours before Cassidy’s endorsement gave the nomination a possible rescue.
Trump selected Blanche, his former personal defense attorney who is now serving as acting attorney general, to lead the Justice Department on a permanent basis. Blanche’s fate had depended heavily on Cassidy after two other Republican senators had already declared their opposition. Cassidy said the fight was about Blanche himself, not Trump. “This is not a referendum on President Trump, it is a decision regarding Mr Blanche, in very specific circumstances,” Cassidy said Friday morning. “All considered, I will vote for Mr Blanche.”
Cassidy’s backing matters because of his long and public break with Trump. During Trump’s second impeachment in 2021, Cassidy voted to convict the president over the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. That vote failed, and after Trump returned to office he helped push Cassidy toward retirement by supporting a primary challenger for the Louisiana Senate seat earlier this year. Cassidy said on the Senate floor that Blanche showed “poor judgement” in approving a controversial anti-weaponization fund and a tax-audit exemption tied to a settlement between Trump and the government.
He added that the president ultimately sets the direction of the Justice Department, but said Senate confirmation would give Blanche “greater leverage to push for things that should be pushed for.” Cassidy also said he did not want to stand in the way of the department’s work against violent crime. The White House quickly welcomed his decision, with spokeswoman Lauren Bis saying, “This is great news and we look forward to [Blanche’s] final confirmation shortly.”
Murkowski’s opposition, by contrast, put Blanche back on the defensive. She said she was troubled by what she called the politicization of the Justice Department, writing on X that the “politicization - even weaponization - of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it.” In a later statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was disappointing, adding that the administration and the Justice Department had done much for Alaska. Murkowski said the country needs an attorney general who will check the “worst impulses” of the administration, and she said she did not trust Blanche to do that.
