Blanche's AG Hearing Did Not Go Smoothly

Todd Blanche's path to becoming attorney general ran into bipartisan backlash Wednesday over issues including the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and his handling of the Justice Department's Jeffrey Epstein files. At his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, the acting AG was pressed hardest by GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who says he's "not sold" on Blanche and whose vote could determine whether the nomination advances. Cornyn drilled into the $1.776 billion fund, which Blanche insisted is now "moot" and formally rescinded—but which Cornyn warned could still be revived in court, especially since President Trump hasn't agreed in writing to drop it, the Hill reports.

Blanche has been acting attorney general since Pam Bondi was fired in April. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said the hearing was more of a "performance review" than a confirmation hearing. "And clearly, when it comes to the treatment of Epstein victims, when it comes to politically motivated prosecutions, when it comes from avoiding appearance of impropriety with corporations, you failed," he said. Sen. Dick Durbin, the panel's top Democrat, urged Blanche to meet with the ten Epstein victims who attended the hearing. Blanche said he was prohibited from meeting them directly. He acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in the DOJ's release of the files.

• In what Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff called a "Freudian slip," Blanche, who was Trump's personal attorney before joining the administration, at one point referred to himself as Trump's lawyer before quickly correcting himself.
• Democratic Sen. Chris Coons asked Blanche about calls from some Trump supporters for the president to seek a third term, the BBC reports. Is Trump "just as a simple matter of constitutional law, eligible to run for another term as president in 2028?" Coons asked. Blanche replied, "I don't believe he is, no."

The AP notes that Cornyn's questions were closely watched because Blanche will need the support of all the Republicans on the committee for his nomination to proceed. Cornyn, who lost his primary to Trump-endorsed challenger Ken Paxton, said after the hearing that he was still undecided. The New York Times notes that the confirmation process is "somewhat symbolic," since Blanche could remain acting AG for the rest of Trump's term, but it will also be seen as a vote on "the president's vision of the department as a projection of his power and extension of his will." It's not clear when the committee will vote. If they approve Blanche, a vote in the full Senate will follow.