Confirming Todd Blanche as US attorney general should be a no-brainer for Republicans AND Dems
If Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Todd Blanche’s nomination as US attorney general is at all fair, even Democrats will see he’s eminently qualified.
On top of a distinguished private-sector record, Blanche has logged 15 years of sterling service in the Justice Department, including a flawless performance as assistant US attorney in New York: He’s the sort of serious career lawyer everyone should want in charge at Justice.
Indeed, he’s been running the department as interim AG since April, overseeing 100,000 staff, including at the FBI and 93 US attorney offices.
Yes, Blanche has President Donald Trump’s confidence, since he ran a legal team fighting Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s bogus hush-money case and special counsel Jack Smith’s federal-lawfare cases against the prez.
But no president wants an attorney general he can’t trust, and Trump has more reason to worry than most, since top Justice officials were key to kneecapping him in his first term with the utterly bogus Russiagate “scandal.”
Fact is, Blanche is the most regular-Republican nominee anyone could expect Trump to tap, with a mainstream pedigree far superior to former AG Pam Bondi or the prez’s initial second-term pick, the odious ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz.
As deputy AG since early 2025, and acting AG these last four months, Blanche has been a key figure in Team Trump’s campaigns against fraud, violent crime, transnational drug groups and illegal immigrants.
And he’s promising to continue the work going forward.
But nearly all Senate Democrats will vote against him; at this point, most won’t OK any Trump appointees.
They also resent his involvement in probing Biden-era anti-Trump lawfare.
So getting permanent, reliable leadership installed at Justice depends on the Senate’s 53 Republicans, — several of whom have their own serious (and often legit) gripes with Trump.
For the good of the country, GOP doubters like Sens. Thom Tillis (NC), John Cornyn (Texas), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) should set their resentments aside.
Again: Blanche is about as normal and solid a Republican as the GOP could want.
Nor will he be a hatchet man (as were Eric Holder and Merrick Garland for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden).
The Senate already confirmed Blanche last year for the deputy AG slot; he was qualified then, and he’s qualified now — and confirmation is almost beside the point: As deputy AG, Blanche automatically became acting AG until the Senate confirms a replacement.
But the Justice Department, and the American people, deserve to have the steadiest possible hand at the top of US law enforcement — and Todd Blanche fits that job description to a T.