US Senate Confirms Todd Blanche as Attorney General by a Single Vote
The Senate approved by a narrow margin of 50 to 49 the appointment of Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former lawyer, as Attorney General. Two Republicans joined Democrats, amid growing concerns over the politicization of the Department of Justice.
A divided and conflicted Senate approved today, Saturday, by a single vote, the appointment of Todd Blanche to the position of Attorney General of the United States. Blanche, who previously served as President Donald Trump's lawyer and has managed the Department of Justice in recent months as acting head, passed the vote despite an ongoing storm over fears that he would not restrain the president or confront him.
Despite growing discomfort in their ranks, Republicans in the Senate once again aligned with the president's wishes. The dramatic vote ended with a result of 50-49, after two moderate Republican senators, Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, joined all the Democrats and voted against the appointment. The two expressed grave concern over the politicization of the Department of Justice and assessed that Blanche would allow for the continued erosion of the department's independence under Trump's rule.
Their opposition placed the appointment in real danger, but Republican Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana tipped the scales when he announced his support on Friday.
"The choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche," clarified Cassidy, who lost the primaries this year to a candidate supported by Trump. According to him, leaving Blanche or anyone else as an acting head without oversight from the Senate, as the president threatened to do, is an even worse alternative.
The path to Blanche's confirmation, as reported in the "New York Times", was full of obstacles, mainly due to his involvement in a controversial settlement in a lawsuit filed by Trump against the US Internal Revenue Service. The settlement included tax immunity for the president and his businesses, as well as the establishment of a $1.8 billion federal fund to compensate people who claimed they were victims of "government persecution," including those involved in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Only after committing in writing to cancel the mentioned fund and limit Trump's immunity, was Blanche able to satisfy the Republican senators who opposed him. However, former officials and critics argue that Blanche has already begun to dismantle the traditional defense mechanisms of the Department of Justice, and fear that his promises regarding the fund will be broken immediately after he settles into his seat.
