Todd Blanche confirmation remains unsettled after a rocky hearing and 404 pages of written answers failed to quiet questions about a $1.766 billion anti-weaponization fund. Blanche, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department, still needs the Senate Judiciary Committee before any floor vote can happen.
The committee’s Republican margin is 11-10 after the death of Lindsey Graham, so Blanche needs every Republican vote if Democrats oppose him. One unresolved issue can stop the nomination at that stage.
Thom Tillis and John Cornyn
Thom Tillis put the issue in writing Monday night, asking Blanche: “If the President directs you to reverse your decision and move forward with the Fund, will you move forward?” Blanche answered that “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on hypothetical communications I may or may not have with the President,” and added, “The Anti-Weaponization Fund is dead.”
Politico reported that Blanche sidestepped a string of questions from Tillis in the 404 pages released Monday night, and John Cornyn and Tillis were among the GOP members whose support appeared to be in question. For Blanche, that means the committee stage is doing the work that a floor vote would normally do: sorting out whether the nomination can advance at all.
Judge Kathleen Williams
Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida said last week that she was “extremely troubled” by Blanche’s behavior, after the settlement that led to tax audit immunity for President Trump and his family and a potential $1.8 billion payout fund controlled by his administration. The fund was described as worth $1.766 billion and drew condemnation from members of both parties as a slush fund that would benefit the White House’s political allies.
Benjamin Weiss highlighted Blanche’s written responses on the fund question, while the Monday night release gave senators a fresh record to weigh before the committee decides whether to move him forward. If John Cornyn and Thom Tillis do not get enough from Blanche’s answers, the nomination stops there; if they do, the committee can send it on to the floor.
