Todd Blanche, President Trump's former personal lawyer and his pick for attorney general, is set to appear for what could be a contentious confirmation hearing Wednesday amid questions about his handling of the Epstein files, the targeting of Trump's political foes and the broader politicization of justice.
Blanche previously won Senate confirmation early in Trump's second term to serve as the No. 2 official at the Justice Department, but it is unclear whether he can muster enough support this time to be confirmed for the top job.
The confirmation hearing is set to start at 9 a.m. ET. Watch it live:
Democrats appear unified in opposition to his nomination. That leaves Blanche's fate in the hands of a small number of Republicans who have voiced concerns about some of his actions at the department and could torpedo his nomination in the Senate, where the Republican Party has a razor-thin majority.
Republican concerns largely center on Blanche's involvement in the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund as part of a settlement with Trump to end his lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns.
After bipartisan pushback, Blanche said the fund isn't moving forward — but the part of the settlement that shields Trump, his family and his businesses from IRS audits of past tax returns remains in place.
On Monday, a federal judge blasted the Justice Department over the settlement, saying it was an attempt to "earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law."
Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are among the handful of Republican lawmakers to raise questions about the settlement. They are both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Blanche will appear on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing.
A single Republican "no" vote on the committee could kill Blanche's nomination.
Targeting of Trump's political foes
Blanche has led the Justice Department since April, when Trump pushed out his first attorney general, Pam Bondi, and elevated Blanche to the top job on an acting basis.
Under Blanche's leadership, the department has aggressively pursued Trump's promised campaign of revenge against his perceived political enemies. The department announced indictments against former FBI Director James Comey as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center, the storied civil rights group long criticized by conservatives.
The department also opened an investigation that centers on lawsuits that the writer E. Jean Carroll brought and won against Trump for sexual abuse and defamation.
Trump has praised Blanche, saying in May that he's "doing a great job" leading the Justice Department.
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Iowa's Chuck Grassley, welcomed Blanche's nomination, calling him "well qualified" and saying he has "shown his dedication to restoring law and order across our country."
The National Association of Police Organizations has also voiced support for Blanche's nomination, saying that "he has built a strong partnership with the law enforcement community."
Democrats, in contrast, have accused Blanche of destroying the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House, weaponizing its prosecutorial powers and undermining the rule of law.
The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that when Blanche was under consideration for the No. 2 job last year, he reminded Blanche that maintaining the department's independence from politics and the White House was critical.
"Regrettably, over the past year, he has disregarded that call and erased that line, placing loyalty to President Trump above all else and damaging the independence and credibility of the department in ways that will have ramifications for decades," Durbin said last month.
Accused of "improper, unlawful" firings
Many legal observers and department veterans have similar concerns.
A letter signed by some 1,200 former Department of Justice employees urged the Senate to reject Blanche's nomination, saying he has attacked the apolitical career workforce by firing career attorneys, agents and analysts for "improper, unlawful reasons."
The effects of those firings, the letter says, will be felt across the United States.
"They've meant that much of the department's vital work isn't being done, or isn't being done as well — leaving communities less safe, Americans' rights less protected, and our national security more vulnerable," says the letter, which was organized and sent by Justice Connection, a nonprofit that helps DOJ workers find legal and ethics help.
Blanche, for his part, has brushed aside the criticism.
"There's 1,200 former DOJ employees, I think, out of what, 40,000?" he said in an interview with a local Alaska TV station. "I don't know. I'm not a math guy, but that's not a very high percentage."
He said he was still going to work with Republicans and Democrats to answer any questions about his nomination.
In a social media post on the eve of the confirmation hearing, Trump again lauded Blanche, saying: "He is a great lawyer, always very fair, and every Republican Senator should vote to CONFIRM Todd Blanche, ASAP!"
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