WASHINGTON (OSV News) — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to be confirmed to that role faces several key challenges.
Blanche, who was previously Trump’s personal attorney, has been leading the Department of Justice in an acting capacity since President Donald Trump removed Pam Bondi as head of the DOJ. Trump has since nominated Blanche to fill the role, but it requires Senate confirmation.
Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15-16 for hearings on his nomination. He would need to win the support of that committee in order for his nomination to advance to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
But several issues could present hurdles for Blanche, from potential objections to the way the Department of Justice handled the release of the Epstein files, the way it has approached state challenges to a policy permitting distribution of mifepristone by mail, and the Trump administration’s attempt to seek a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that led to objections from senators in both parties.
On July 13, survivors of the late convicted sex offender and wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, through an organization called World Without Exploitation, urged the Senate to reject Blanche’s nomination, pointing to the DOJ’s failure to completely redact identifying information about victims during a mandated disclosure about information regarding its investigation.
“Under Blanche’s leadership at the Department of Justice, Epstein survivors’ personal information — including their names, phone numbers, and home addresses — was exposed, while the names of many alleged abusers and other powerful individuals connected to Epstein remained redacted,” the group said in an Instagram post. “The disclosure revictimized the very people the justice system was supposed to protect and put their safety at risk.”
Senate Judiciary Democrats have invited Danielle Bensky, one of the Epstein survivors, to testify during the hearing on July 16.
Pro-life concerns over Blanche’s DOJ and mifepristone
Pro-life groups have pushed for changes to the Department of Justice’s approach to state lawsuits challenging a federal policy permitting mifepristone, sometimes called the abortion pill, to be dispensed through the mail ahead of Blanche’s confirmation hearings.
During a July 13 press call regarding Blanche’s upcoming hearing, Jamie Dangers, director of federal affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, pointed to a letter organized by the group to Blanche from women who say they were harmed by abortion drugs.
“More and more women are being poisoned by abusers. More and more women are becoming victims of coercion, and that is something we cannot abide,” she said.
Pro-life groups including SBA have objected to court filings by the DOJ asking courts to dismiss or pause state lawsuits to roll back the Biden administration’s eased restrictions on mifepristone. The Trump administration has thus far left that regulation in effect while the DOJ has sought to block those challenges, notably Louisiana’s, pending a promised safety review by the Food and Drug Administration. The status and timeline of the FDA review are unclear.
SBA has urged Blanche to settle the case from Louisiana. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the Judiciary Committee, has indicated he wants to know what Blanche’s plan is for the mifepristone lawsuits as he considers the nomination.
Nomination may swing on Tillis
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. who unexpectedly died on July 11, was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and was a staunch supporter of Blanche’s nomination. If a single remaining Republican on the committee declined to advance Blanche’s nomination, the nomination would fail.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is therefore seen as a crucial vote for Blanche’s nomination to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tillis, who will leave the Senate at the end of his current term, has previously stated he will not support DOJ nominees he views as sympathetic to those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Tillis was also among the senators on both sides of the aisle who strongly objected to the Trump administration’s attempt to secure the “anti-weaponization fund,” which Blanche supported. However, Tillis recently told CNN that he had a “positive predisposition” toward Blanche after meeting with him.
But Tillis added in the June 28 interview that he expects a degree of separation between the White House and the Justice Department to be maintained, saying, “if there’s even a whiff of a lack of independence, then that could influence my vote.”
If Blanche’s nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and proceeds to the full Senate, he could lose no more than four Republican votes to be confirmed to the post. He can afford to only lose three GOP senators without Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who in a July 12 statement said he remains away from the Senate after a fall and a subsequent treatment for pneumonia.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
