{"id":31421,"date":"2026-08-07T19:48:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31421"},"modified":"2026-08-07T19:48:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:48:51","slug":"with-blanche-nomination-in-limbo-all-eyes-are-once-again-on-a-senator-trump-has-scorned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31421","title":{"rendered":"With Blanche Nomination in Limbo, All Eyes Are Once Again on a Senator Trump Has Scorned"},"content":{"rendered":"<script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<br><div id=\"article-content\">\n            \n\n\n\n\n<p>Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she will oppose Todd Blanche\u2019s nomination for Attorney General in a Friday morning social media post \u2014 teeing up the Trump administration to either court a senator whose career Trump ended or ask for the Senate to delay the vote until after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fully returns to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have had numerous constructive meetings with Mr. Blanche and he comes across as decent and capable. I appreciate the trip he made to learn more about Alaska, including our rural areas, \u2026 Ultimately, however, I will oppose his nomination,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lisamurkowski\/status\/2085667540265504961\" target=\"_blank\">Murkowski said in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The Alaska senator said she takes \u201cissue with the handling of the release of the Epstein files; the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses; the statements that have been made to anti-abortion groups; and the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. Senators.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>She added: \u201cI am also keenly aware that the Department\u2019s nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund\u2014which likely would have rewarded January 6 protesters\u2014is only off the table because this nomination is pending and the Senate has leverage. Once we vote, that will end, and there is no telling what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:html -->\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I have had numerous constructive meetings with Mr. Blanche and he comes across as decent and capable. I appreciate the trip he made to learn more about Alaska, including our rural areas, and as Acting Attorney General he has made several noteworthy decisions that will benefit our\u2026<\/p>\u2014 Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lisamurkowski\/status\/2085667540265504961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">August 7, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> \n<!-- \/wp:html -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Murkowski\u2019s opposition comes as Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorCollins\/status\/2084757125746594298\" target=\"_blank\">announced earlier this week that she would not vote to confirm Blanche<\/a>, pointing to similar reasons for her decision, including the promises he made to an anti-abortion group, vowing to target the online prescription and mailing of the abortion pill, mifepristone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/where-things-stand\/is-blanche-vow-to-make-dobbs-permanent-in-every-single-state-tied-to-cornyn-tillis-appeasement\" target=\"_blank\">As TPM has reported<\/a>, both Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) \u2014 the two senators whose votes Blanche needed to move his nomination out of committee \u2014 had sent a letter to Blanche in mid-July asking that he \u201cstop the abortion industry\u2019s unlawful and unsafe mail-order abortion drug practice.\u201d Blanche made the promises to the anti-abortion group, it appears, while that committee vote was still in limbo.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>But Blanche\u2019s promise to roll back abortion access nationwide was bound to give both Collins and Murkowski pause. The two will occasionally break with the Republican Party on women\u2019s rights and reproductive health issues.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>So this leaves the Trump administration with two options: either try to court Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) or delay the vote until McConnell returns. Cassidy remains undecided thus far, but he has expressed concern about the Department of Justice potentially targeting the president\u2019s perceived enemies. Cassidy has clashed with Trump over several big issues recently, including on the Iran war powers authorization vote. Trump also refused to endorse Cassidy in his recent reelection campaign, instead actively endorsing and campaigning for Cassidy\u2019s challenger, which ultimately led to Cassidy losing his reelection bid.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The two GOP oppositions to Blanche \u2014 who has been serving as acting attorney general since April \u2014 puts his nomination at risk of stalling.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>With McConnell absent due to illness and all Democrats opposing Blanche, Senate GOP leadership can\u2019t afford anymore GOP votes against Blanche and may ultimately decide to delay the floor vote.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->          <\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n        appId: \"101800829865996\",\n        xfbml: true,\n        version: ' v2.6'\n      });\n      window.fbAsyncInit.__didInit = true;\n    };\n    (function(d, s, id) {\n      var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n      if (d.getElementById(id)) {\n        return;\n      }\n      js = d.createElement(s);\n      js.id = id;\n      js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n      fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n    }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n  <\/script>\r\n<br><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she will oppose Todd Blanche\u2019s nomination for Attorney General in a Friday morning social media post \u2014 teeing up the Trump administration to either court a senator whose career Trump ended or ask for the Senate to delay the vote until after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fully returns to work&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2288381894.jpg?w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}