{"id":32458,"date":"2026-08-08T12:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32458"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:42:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:42:53","slug":"sen-bill-cassidy-a-critical-republican-holdout-backs-todd-blanche-for-attorney-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32458","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Bill Cassidy, a critical Republican holdout, backs Todd Blanche for attorney general"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><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<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-e8db1f\" class=\"body-graf\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., announced Friday he will vote for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\">President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> pick of Todd Blanche for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/todd-blanches-doj-comes-focus-confirmation-vote-nears-rcna590757\" target=\"_blank\">attorney general<\/a>, likely assuring his confirmation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ec3d2a\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cAll considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I\u2019ll be criticized for this vote. What\u2019s new?\u201d Cassidy said in a floor speech after outlining concerns he said he weighed.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4c2215\" class=\"body-graf\">Cassidy\u2019s decision is likely to be decisive in helping Blanche get confirmed to the powerful job.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-cf073c\" class=\"body-graf\">While he\u2019s \u201cconcerned about episodes of apparent lawfare,\u201d Cassidy said, \u201ceven critics admit that Mr. Blanche knows the law and is a hands-on administrator.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-44b921\" class=\"body-graf\">The White House welcomed Cassidy\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-0e249c\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cThis is great news and we look forward to his final confirmation shortly,\u201d White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement. \u201cTodd Blanche has done an excellent job as acting Attorney General and will continue doing so as Attorney General.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-fc184c\" class=\"body-graf\">Republicans need support from 50 of their 53 senators to confirm Blanche.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-506c00\" class=\"body-graf\">Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, came out Friday against Blanche, joining fellow centrist Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to oppose the president\u2019s choice. With Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., out indefinitely, and Democrats expected to vote no, a third GOP opponent would have blocked the nomination.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__FvnTh styles_medium__MEKii\" id=\"anchor-dd689a\"><picture class=\"styles_image__i32F7\" data-testid=\"picture\" data-flavor=\"fit\" data-original-height=\"1667\" data-original-width=\"2500\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260112-lisa-murkowski-mn-1110-5ac1fb.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260112-lisa-murkowski-mn-1110-5ac1fb.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260112-lisa-murkowski-mn-1110-5ac1fb.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260112-lisa-murkowski-mn-1110-5ac1fb.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-01\/260112-lisa-murkowski-mn-1110-5ac1fb.jpg\" alt=\"Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks on Capitol Hill on Oct. 9, 2025. \" height=\"1667\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__TCewG\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Allison Robbert \/ AP file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"anchor-64e8be\" class=\"body-graf\">Despite the \u201cnumerous constructive meetings\u201d she\u2019s had with Blanche, Murkowski said in a statement, \u201cI will oppose his nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-fd7d01\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cThe country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7abbca\" class=\"body-graf\">Murkowski also warned of the \u201cpoliticization\u201d and \u201ceven weaponization\u201d of the Justice Department, which she said has accelerated under the Trump administration. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-1ac394\" class=\"body-graf\">The senator cited the Justice Department\u2019s handling of the release of files in the case of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and questioned whether the Trump administration\u2019s proposed $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, which she called a \u201cslush fund\u201d in her announcement, would remain off the table.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-d69c22\" class=\"body-graf\">A McConnell spokesperson didn\u2019t respond to a message seeking comment Friday about how he would vote if he were able to be present and cast a vote.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-9e683f\" class=\"body-graf\">The retiring Kentucky senator is not a guaranteed proponent on Blanche; he has voted against some high-profile Trump nominees, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ecb952\" class=\"body-graf\">In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T9omos50y8k\" target=\"_blank\">interview with Punchbowl News<\/a> on Thursday, before Murkowski\u2019s announcement, Trump lashed out against the moderate GOP senator. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-824671\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cMurkowski, I was against. I\u2019m against Murkowski,\u201d he said in the interview, released Friday. \u201cI do more for Alaska than any any president in history. No president\u2019s done for Alaska what I\u2019ve done. She\u2019s she\u2019s not good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-4ae2ca\" class=\"body-graf\">Blanche, the acting attorney general, has already faced a bumpy confirmation process after Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both withheld their support for the nomination over their concerns about his leadership at the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-a07b4d\" class=\"body-graf\">Cornyn and Tillis had expressed concerns about the fund, which was intended to compensate alleged victims of politically motivated prosecutions. The fund was created as part of Trump\u2019s settlement with the IRS over a leak of his tax records. The settlement also included a guarantee that he and his family business would be sheltered from tax audits.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-e74db7\" class=\"body-graf\">The senators had sought written assurances that the fund would be rescinded and the scope of the audit immunity clarified, which Blanche ultimately provided. Tillis had also insisted that Blanche meet with Epstein survivors, which he had previously not agreed to do. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-43dc1b\" class=\"body-graf\">After Blanche\u2019s contentious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/todd-blanche-confirmation-hearing-trump-rcna587290\" target=\"_blank\">confirmation hearing<\/a> last month, during which Tillis and other senators aired their concerns about the Justice Department\u2019s handling of the Epstein case, the acting attorney general did meet privately with a group of victims. Epstein survivor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/epstein-survivor-dani-bensky-meeting-todd-blanche-not-productive-rcna587936\" target=\"_blank\">Dani Bensky told NBC News, <\/a>however, that the meeting was \u201cnot productive\u201d or \u201csubstantive,\u201d while Blanche described it in opposite terms.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-2bae36\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">Democrats have denounced the Justice Department\u2019s failure to redact personal information about the survivors, but not that of people who may have participated in their abuse. They have also raised concerns the \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund is not dead and that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/legal-loophole-revive-anti-weaponization-fund-trump-administration-rcna590638\" target=\"_blank\">loopholes exist to resurrect it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., announced Friday he will vote for President Donald Trump\u2019s pick of Todd Blanche for attorney general, likely assuring his confirmation. \u201cAll considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I\u2019ll be criticized for this vote. What\u2019s new?\u201d Cassidy said in a floor speech after outlining concerns he said he weighed&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-08\/260807-bill-cassidy-16x9-mn-1120-272905.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32458","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=32458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}