The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general Saturday in a 50-49 vote, delivering President Donald Trump a key win for his Justice Department even as two Republicans broke ranks to oppose the nomination.
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Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both frequent Republican holdouts, joined every Senate Democrat in voting against Blanche following a late-night session that stretched until 4 a.m. Collins said her opposition stemmed from a Justice Department she believes “has become increasingly political.”
“Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,” Collins said earlier in the week, pointing to his approval of an IRS order shielding the Trump family and its businesses from audits and his creation of a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. Murkowski echoed those concerns and separately criticized the department’s handling of the Epstein files release.
The nomination cleared the chamber only after Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who had previously opposed Blanche, announced Friday he would vote to confirm him, ultimately casting the deciding vote in the 50-49 outcome.
“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this,” Cassidy said. “But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
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Cassidy said he still held some reservations but concluded that a confirmed attorney general would carry more authority to resist political pressure than someone serving only in an acting role, a distinction that ultimately gave Trump the votes he needed.
Blanche thanked senators for staying late to finish the vote and expressed gratitude to the president. “I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” he said.
With Saturday’s vote, Blanche moves from acting status to a Senate-confirmed appointment, giving him full standing to lead the department as Trump’s administration continues to reshape federal law enforcement priorities. Collins and Murkowski’s votes mark the latest instance of the two senators splitting from their party on a high-profile Trump nominee, a pattern that has repeated throughout his second term.
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