Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Todd Blanche for Attorney General

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, clearing a key procedural hurdle for President Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department.

The Republican-led panel voted 12-10 along party lines to send Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.

Blanche has served as acting attorney general since April and was nominated by Trump in June.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had raised concerns over a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, ultimately supported advancing the nomination after Blanche issued a new order. The order rescinded the fund and clarified the limits of the tax immunity deal.

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In a joint statement, Cornyn and Tillis said they were “pleased” with the formal order ending the fund.

“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” they said.

Cornyn added: “Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the department to live up to this in future litigation.”

Pro-life organizations have strongly backed Blanche’s confirmation.

Americans United for Life endorsed him, stating in a letter to the committee: “Mr. Blanche’s confirmation as Attorney General would advance the cause of respect for human life in the United States. Through his statements and actions as Acting Attorney General, Mr. Blanche has shown himself to be a sincere advocate for human life and a faithful servant of President Trump’s pro-life agenda.”

John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, said: “Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has committed himself to extending protections for life to the letter of the law. We urge members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to swiftly advance the nomination of Mr. Blanche before the full Senate and allow him to continue his service to the nation as Attorney General of the United States.”

A coalition of 83 state and national pro-life groups, led by SBA Pro-Life America, previously urged Blanche to settle the Louisiana v. FDA lawsuit through a court-ordered consent decree that would end the mail-order distribution of abortion drugs while the FDA completes a safety review.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the FDA’s mail-order abortion drug regime is “indefensible on science and the law” and called on the Department of Justice to end its defense of the policy.

Cornyn and Tillis also wrote to Blanche urging action on the same case. “We write to express our growing concern that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not acted to stop the abortion industry’s unlawful and unsafe mail-order abortion drug practice,” their letter stated. They added that abortions have increased since the Dobbs decision in large part due to expanded mail-order access and concluded: “With every day that passes, more lives are at risk and are lost because of this harmful policy. DOJ can and must act.”

The nomination now heads to the full Senate, where a simple majority is required for confirmation.