Maine’s Republican Sen. Susan Collins has announced she will vote against the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general, marking the latest resistance ahead of the confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
“While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” Collins said in a social media
post on Aug. 4. “Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation.”
Actions she said she was concerned about included Blanche’s approval of an order to shield the president and his family from IRS audits following a leak of their tax returns, his approval of a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, and his promise to work towards prohibiting the mailing of abortion medication.
She also called out the Justice Department’s decision to indict Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) over
videos in which they and several other lawmakers urged U.S. troops to refuse “illegal orders” from the president, who criticized the videos as seditious. The lawmakers didn’t specify in the video which orders they were referring to. Collins said their actions were “ill-advised, but constitutionally protected.”
She added, “More than 1,200 former Department of Justice employees have opposed [Blanche’s] nomination, arguing that he has undermined the institution.”
Meanwhile, former Attorney General Pam Bondi has backed Blanche and had previously noted support for him from law enforcement leaders across America.
Blanche’s nomination advanced beyond the Senate Judiciary Committee on Aug. 3 by a narrow 12–10 vote along party lines.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) previously spoke against Blanche’s advancement, citing their disagreements with the IRS
settlement with Trump—which included the anti-weaponization fund—over his $10 billion lawsuit triggered by the tax return leak. However, the senators publicly issued their support after Blanche formally
terminated the fund the DOJ previously said would pay compensation to victims of government weaponization.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” Cornyn and Tillis
said in a joint statement. “Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS, and the Treasury.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on July 30 that she also shared Tillis and Cornyn’s concerns. She has yet to comment on her final decision.
Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said on Aug. 4 that he will support the nomination following “robust discussions” with Blanche that addressed his initial concerns.
Assuming all Democrats voted in opposition to him and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will be absent from the vote, Blanche can only hear “nay” from two GOP senators in order to make it past this next hurdle.
Stacy Robinson contributed to this report.
