Todd Blanche’s 2-Day AG Confirmation Hearing: What to Expect

Starting on Tuesday, U.S. senators will quiz Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as they consider whether to confirm him as the Justice Department’s new leader. They also will hear testimony for and against him.

President Donald Trump had fired Pam Bondi from the top job in April, then appointed Blanche to take the helm temporarily; in early June, the president nominated Blanche as his pick for the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer.

While some allies of the Republican president are predicting smooth sailing for Blanche, others say the nominee must first navigate some rough waters that members of both parties have churned up. Those include several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding this week’s hearings.

On July 14, the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told The Epoch Times and other media outlets on Capitol Hill that he expected a “wide-open session” at Wednesday’s hearing.

Having met with Blanche previously, Durbin said he was surprised when the nominee asked for a second get-together.

Nominees often hold courtesy meetings with senators attempting to gain support before confirmation hearings.

During Durbin’s most recent meeting with Blanche, Durbin said he asked the nominee about officials withholding information related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Fallout from Bondi-era Epstein decisions has continued.

Late last month, a judge ruled that the FBI was required to reveal previously blacked-out passages in the Epstein files.

Durbin said several of Epstein’s victims would be present during the confirmation hearing. He asked Blanche, “What is it you want to tell them?”

Blanche responded that he would be “willing to meet with them any time and talk to them,” according to Durbin.

“I certainly will remind him of that tomorrow,” Durbin said, noting that one of the witnesses is “a victim who objects to the fact that the information that was published, she thinks, went too far in terms of violating her privacy.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) heads the committee.

Two other committee members, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) spoke to The Epoch Times and other Capitol Hill reporters on July 13.

Tillis said he wants to hear Blanche promise that Trump’s previously proposed $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund will remain “dead”—permanently.

Money for the so-called “1776 fund” would come from a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit alleging that the IRS leaked his tax returns.

However, courts blocked the president’s intent to compensate people who claimed they were victims of politically motivated prosecutions.

Amid the controversy, Blanche said he would not try to fight the court decision or otherwise move the proposal forward.

Tillis said he was working on precisely wording his questions so he could pin down Blanche under oath about the fund.

“I want this thing dead. I’ve been unambiguous about this since the moment I heard about it,” Tillis said.

“That has to be demonstrably dead, or someone has to be guilty of having committed perjury if it, in fact, occurs.”

Blumenthal minced no words when outlining his concerns about Blanche, 51, who formerly served as Trump’s personal attorney.

“I hope that he will disavow the corruption and demagoguery that we see from Donald Trump, but my fear is that he’s going to be Donald Trump’s henchman, his ‘consigliere’ in this ‘mob operation,’ which he has shown himself to be so far,” the Democratic senator said.

While Blumenthal said he was “hopeful,” he was not expecting Blanche to change. He said he based that opinion on his observations of Blanche as well as a personal meeting with the nominee.

Other Meetings With Nominee

Blanche has also met in person with Tillis.

On X last month, Tillis posted a photograph of himself with Blanche and wrote: “I appreciated the opportunity to hear his vision for the Department of Justice and discuss the important work that lies ahead.”

But the Republican senator did not hint whether he would vote in favor of the nominee.

At least two other committee members source were divided along partisan lines in statements they made just before the confirmation hearing’s launch.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) asserted, “Todd Blanche is already delivering” in his current role.

The senator applauded Blanche for various actions, including “denaturalizing” and “shutting down” government-program fraudsters.

In a July 14 post on X, Schmitt said he looked forward to confirming Blanche “and helping him finish the job.”

However, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) issued a July 13 news release to reiterate concerns that he and other Democrats outlined in a late June letter to Blanche.

They railed against Blanche for failing to provide information on dozens of topics, including the Justice Department’s alleged “bending the justice system to President Trump’s will,” Whitehouse’s news release said.

Preparation for the Hearing

Attorney Mike Davis, who advocates for conservative legal issues via the Article III Project, has been helping Blanche prepare for the confirmation process.

He is confident that senators will vote to approve Blanche’s Cabinet position before they head to a monthlong recess on Aug. 10.

Because a majority vote of senators is required to approve his appointment, Blanche must garner near-unanimous support from the 53 Republican senators; Democrats hold 47 seats.

Davis, in a post on X, scoffed at a letter from 1,200 former Justice Department employees who oppose Blanche’s nomination.

Davis called the letter a “joke,” saying that a “senior political appointee” of Democratic President Joe Biden—Trump’s former political opponent—orchestrated it.

He was referring to Rachel Rossi, the Alliance for Justice’s president. Before serving in Biden’s Justice Department, Rossi served as counsel to Durbin, who was then chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Alliance for Justice, a self-described “progressive” nonprofit, pointed to that letter and alleged Blanche is a “dangerous nominee.”

“Todd Blanche has spent his career politicizing government, standing in the way of justice for victims, and carrying out Trump’s bidding to harm those who stand in the way of Trump’s authoritarian agenda,” the group alleged in a post on X.