President Donald Trump is keen to get his newest judicial attack dog properly installed at the top of the Justice Department, but according to a new report from The Hill, he has run into a serious wall of Republican “skepticism” in Congress.
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Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, was promoted to acting Attorney General following the departure of Pam Bondi. Since then, he has wasted little time attempting to rack up “wins” in order to endear himself further to the president and audition for the proper AG job. It seems to have worked out for him, as Trump nominated him for the position earlier this month.
However, he now faces considerable pushback from Republicans in the Senate who will have to confirm his appointment, The Hill reported on Wednesday, much of it stemming from his involvement in the settlement of Trump’s IRS lawsuit.
“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is headed for a rocky Senate confirmation process to take on the role permanently as several Republican senators raise concerns about his credibility and independence from President Trump,” The Hill reported. “Blanche faced withering criticism from Senate Republicans during a private meeting last month at which more than 20 GOP lawmakers vented their frustrations with the administration and panned the proposal he rolled out to establish a $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund.”
It continued: “Blanche on Tuesday assured GOP senators in at least two private meetings that the fund is dead and he won’t support it if Trump tries to revive the idea in the future. But he still faces skepticism over the fund and other issues, including an agreement that Trump reached with his administration to shield himself and his family from IRS audits of past tax returns.”
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, whose reelection bid was recently sunk by Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton, said that he had spoken to Blanche about the settlement in a recent meeting, including the provision that would exempt the Trump family from any and all future IRS audits.
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“It was a positive meeting. There’s still some unanswered questions about the tax audits and the scope of any immunity from future audits,” Cornyn said. “He provided some clarity about the scope [of the IRS deal and] promised to have a more in-depth briefing over the details. There’s a lot of confusion about whether it’s prospective, whether it includes things other than just taxes and maybe other government investigations.”
Cornyn sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Blanche will need his vote, along with every other Republican in the committee, in order to advance. Another member, Sen. Thom Tillis, is also seen as a potential roadblock, given his outspoken criticism of Trump.
When asked about Blanche’s odds of success in the confirmation process, Senate Majority Leader John Thune sounded far from confident.
“Uh, we’ll see,” Thune said. “I think a lot of it will depend on how he performs at the Judiciary Committee. If he can get a strong vote coming out of the Judiciary Committee, then my expectation is we would be able to process him on the floor, but you got a couple of people on that committee that you’ll have to convince”
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