Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, will face senators Wednesday in a high-stakes confirmation hearing that tests Republican unity on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing is the first major nomination fight since the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former committee chairman whose courtroom-style questioning and command of confirmation battles made him one of the GOP’s most influential voices.
Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Fox News Digital that she and her colleagues are working to fill Graham’s seat on the committee before it votes on Blanche’s nomination next week. “I look forward to confirming Mr. Blanche as Attorney General so he can continue his great work to crack down on crime, eradicate the two tiers of justice, and wipe out fraud. That’s exactly what Lindsey would’ve wanted us to do to honor his legacy,” she said.
Blanche has been a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, first serving as his personal defense attorney before helping lead his criminal defense against cases that Trump and his allies denounced as politically motivated. Trump appointed Blanche as deputy attorney general when he returned to office, and later tapped him to fill former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s shoes. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump wrote: “When the Corrupt Biden ‘Injustice’ Department and Radical Left Prosecutors tried to throw me in jail, and interfered in our Historic 2024 Presidential Campaign, Todd stood by my side and fought off the Lawfare.”
Twenty conservative leaders, including Article III Project founder Mike Davis, America First Legal Executive Director Gene Hamilton, and John Eastman of the Claremont Institute, penned a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urging him to confirm Blanche. The letter, exclusively shared with Fox News Digital and spearheaded by the Article III Project, argued that Blanche has already proven he will “fight back.” The signers cited Blanche’s clerkships, his time as a federal prosecutor, and his work in private practice. “Blanche made a tremendous sacrifice, walking away from a massive salary as a partner at a premier law firm to defend President Trump when almost no one else would,” the letter read. “He stood in the arena. Most importantly, he won. Blanche fought back against the most nakedly partisan prosecution in modern American history: Alvin Bragg’s absurd attempt to transform a lawful nondisclosure agreement into 34 felony counts.”
Democrats have already signaled strong opposition to making Blanche’s acting appointment permanent, citing his close ties to Trump. Vermont Sen. Peter Welch said Tuesday: “He’s got a record. It’s not what he says. It’s what he’s done and what he’s consistently done is put Donald Trump above everything else. So his actions, this is a person who’s got a very clear record. His actions speak much louder than whatever he says in the hearing.” Senate Judiciary Democrats wrote on X: “40+ civil rights organizations just came out against Todd Blanche. Todd Blanche is indicting civil rights champions, protecting insurrectionists, and firing prosecutors. All to protect Donald Trump—not YOU.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday: “Acting AG Todd Blanche has spent this confirmation fight doing what he’s always done for his client Donald Trump: Denying the obvious, defending the indefensible, and lying under oath. He’s already made it clear that we can’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth.”
Conservative leaders urging Grassley to swiftly confirm Blanche say the “case for confirmation is simple.” They wrote: “Blanche already knows the job. He already knows the department. He is already executing the Trump agenda. Forcing a new nominee through the confirmation process would squander months of irreplaceable momentum–months the deep state would use to run out the clock. There is no reason to delay and every reason to act. The undersigned urge you to confirm Todd Blanche now.” The hearing begins Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
