Exclusive: National coalition urges Cassidy to oppose Blanche nomination
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) holds a gavel during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on July 16. Photo: Eric Lee/Getty Images
A nonpartisan coalition urged Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Friday to cast the deciding vote against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Trump's pick to head the Department of Justice, according to a letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The pressure is building on Cassidy — who will make an announcement on his vote at 10:40 a.m. ET — to oppose Blanche. If Cassidy says he's a no, it would effectively tank Blanche's chance of being confirmed.
- GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have already said they won't support the president's pick for chief law enforcement officer, and with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) still absent, Blanche can't afford another dissenter.
Driving the news: "The American people deserve an attorney general who represents their interests, not one who works solely for the president," the nonpartisan Not Above the Law coalition wrote in a Friday letter to Cassidy.
- "Bill Cassidy told us exactly what's wrong with this Justice Department: it's being run as a personal law firm for Donald Trump, not an independent agency that answers to the American people and the rule of law," said Lisa Gilbert, the co-president of nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizen.
- She continued: "Senator Cassidy is the last line of defense against an attorney general who's already told the country, with his words and his actions, that the DOJ isn't independent from the president."
Catch up quick: Blanche navigated a tumultuous path out of the Senate Judiciary Committee after facing Republican opposition from Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) over the president's controversial IRS settlement and $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
- But Blanche's road to a full Senate vote was cleared after he rescinded the order setting up the fund and cleared up some of the sweeping audit protections Trump received in the deal, winning over the GOP holdouts.
- The relief didn't last long for Blanche. Collins announced Tuesday that she'd vote against him, citing actions from the president's former personal attorney that she said have "eroded the Department's independence" and the more than 1,200 former DOJ employees against his nomination.
- Murkowski echoed Collins in declaring her opposition Friday, saying that the "politicization—even weaponization—of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it."
State of play: With the Senate set to leave for its August recess soon, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has not yet scheduled Blanche's final confirmation vote but says lawmakers intend to vote before they depart.
- McConnell said in a Thursday statement that he was discharged from a rehabilitation center as he recovers from a June fall, but his office did not indicate when he would return to the Senate. If McConnell were to show, Vice President J.D. Vance could cast a tie-breaking vote.
- Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), sometimes a swing vote who has supported some of the president's nominees, has already said he's a no on Blanche.
Go deeper: Murkowski will oppose Blanche, threatening his confirmation
