Bill Barr Urges Senate to Confirm Todd Blanche as AG Despite 53-Seat GOP Majority
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Bill Barr Urges Senate to Confirm Todd Blanche as AG Despite 53-Seat GOP Majority
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Summary
Bill Barr used a Wall Street Journal column to press Senate Republicans to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, arguing his past as Donald Trump’s defense lawyer would help him deliver advice the president will accept.
Barr said critics have the relationship backward: a lawyer who guided Trump through legal battles is more likely to confront him with hard truths than act as a compliant loyalist.
53 Senate Republicans hold the majority, but Blanche still faces a difficult path because several GOP senators have not committed support ahead of mid-July Judiciary Committee hearings.
Thom Tillis has tied his vote to whether the Justice Department’s aborted Anti-Weaponization Fund is effectively dead, while John Cornyn says he wants a full briefing and Blanche’s testimony before deciding.
The nomination fight comes as Blanche, elevated after Pam Bondi’s departure, is already under scrutiny for prosecutions targeting Trump adversaries, including a new indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.