Todd Blanche’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing was already shaping up to be a genuine fight. Now that there’s a Lindsey Graham-sized hole on the Judiciary Committee, well, that math’s gotten tighter.
Lindsey Graham died Saturday, removing from the Judiciary Committee one of the most devoted Trump loyalists in the Senate, and he will be conspicuously absent when Blanche sits down for what’s expected to be a bruising two-part hearing this week. “He was engaged and a powerful voice on the committee when he would participate in these high-profile matters,” said Mike Fragoso, who served as Graham’s chief nominations counsel during his time as Judiciary chairman, to Bloomberg Law. “He would’ve been a defender of Blanche at his tenure at the Department of Justice, and he won’t be there for that this week, which is unfortunate.”
Blanche is going to need every defender he can get. The confirmation battle has already drawn opposition from the New York Times editorial board, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, hundreds of DOJ alumni, and even defenders like Bill Barr come across backhanded at best. And just today the New York City Bar Association wrote, his actions, both as Deputy Attorney General and as Acting Attorney General, have “repeatedly demonstrated that his primary loyalty is not to the United States Constitution or the rule of law but to President Donald J. Trump, whom Mr. Blanche previously represented as a private attorney and whose personal interests he has continued to protect. As a result, his actions have been detrimental to the Department of Justice and the rule of law. Specifically, Mr. Blanche has compromised the integrity and independence of the Department he has been nominated to lead.”
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Not easy stuff to just brush off.
But if Blanche can rally the Republicans, his nomination will get out of Commttee. “Unanimous Republican support still means a nominee will be voted out of committee, and a single Republican no vote still means they won’t,” Emory University law professor Sara Zdeb told Bloomberg Law. That puts the spotlight on Committee member Thom Tillis, who previously utilized his power on the committee to squash the DOJ investigation into Jerome Powell. But, according to social media, Tillis appears warm to Blanche’s nomination.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster is expected to move quickly to have someone fill out the remainder of Graham’s term. “By all accounts the governor will move quickly to name a temporary replacement,” Zdeb said. So, if and when it goes to a full Senate vote, the GOP will still have a slender margin.
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But what Blanche is walking into this week is a confirmation hearing where Democrats will press him on the Epstein files, the slush fund, and his vow not to conduct politically motivated investigations. And he won’t have Graham in his corner during the process.
Earlier:
Former DOJ Prosecutors To Senate: Blanche Took The Same Oath We Did. He Didn’t Keep It.
Senator Whitehouse Would Like To Tell You Exactly What He Thinks Of Todd Blanche
Bill Barr Would Like The Senate To Know: Confirm Todd Blanche Or The Hostage Gets It
‘Todd Blanche Is Unfit For Office,’ Says The New York Times Editorial Board
Todd Blanche Got The Attorney General Nomination. Getting Confirmed Is Another Matter.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1