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Todd Blanche Is Finally the Attorney General, No Thanks to the Usual RINO Suspects

GOVERNMENT

America has a confirmed Attorney General. It took seven months, a lame-duck revenge operation from John Cornyn, a sustained obstruction campaign from Thom Tillis, and a pair of reliably disappointing votes from Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — but Todd Blanche is the 88th Attorney General of the United States, confirmed 50-49 early Saturday morning.

The margin tells the whole story. Every Democrat voted no. Murkowski voted no, publishing a statement explaining she doesn’t have “confidence” Blanche will “check the worst impulses” of the Trump administration — a framing that essentially argues she’s entitled to a DOJ that acts as a check on the president who appointed it. Collins voted no. McConnell is still hospitalized and absent. And the decisive vote fell to Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who knew exactly what he was walking into and voted yes anyway.

“I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I’ll be criticized for this vote. What’s new?” Cassidy said on the Senate floor Friday morning. Then he made the argument that cuts through all the procedural drama: the choice isn’t between Todd Blanche and some ideal attorney general who will satisfy every senator’s concerns. The choice is between Blanche and another acting attorney general who may be less capable and less effective. In that framing, Blanche wins easily — and Cassidy acted accordingly.

The weeks preceding the vote were an embarrassment for the two senators who held the nomination hostage. Cornyn and Tillis extracted concessions on the language surrounding Trump’s IRS settlement — the Anti-Weaponization Fund that was supposed to compensate Americans targeted by Biden’s DOJ — before releasing their committee votes. Blanche’s office provided the clarifying order they requested. Then Tillis voted no anyway. Cornyn voted yes, perhaps having gotten everything he was going to get from the negotiation.

President Donald Trump’s read on the whole saga was direct and accurate: Cornyn was settling a score for losing his primary to Ken Paxton. His vote reversal at the end doesn’t erase weeks of obstruction that delayed a critical cabinet confirmation during an active military conflict with Iran and a critical election integrity push heading into the midterms.

Blanche’s statement after confirmation was gracious and forward-looking: “I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me. To the dedicated public servants of the Department — I will work tirelessly alongside you to uphold the rule of law and deliver justice for the American people.”

Now the work begins. The Fauci contempt referral is sitting on his desk. The Jack Smith criminal referral from Congress is in the queue. The Democratic AG coordination document is a matter of public record. The election integrity enforcement operation is ongoing. The anti-weaponization mandate is his to execute.

Confirmed. 50-49. After seven months of delay engineered largely by members of his own party.

It’s done. Now let’s see what he does with it.