Senate panel advances Todd Blanche nomination for attorney general

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche cleared a critical hurdle Tuesday in his bid to be confirmed to the post after swaying Republican holdouts on a Senate committee to advance his nomination for a floor vote.

Blanche’s path to confirmation had been on hold after Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina raised concerns about the “anti-weaponization” fund that the Trump administration tried to establish in May. The fund would give taxpayer-funded payments to Trump allies, potentially including Jan. 6 rioters the president pardoned on his first day back in office. The senators had also threatened to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney. Blanche has pushed the Republican administration’s priorities since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.

The full Senate could vote later this week on Blanche’s nomination. If all Democrats oppose him, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes if Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was hospitalized after a fall, does not return before then.