Todd Blanche
Blanche faces his July 15 Senate confirmation with Tillis's vote pivotal, 19 Epstein survivors opposing him, and a judge's bar-discipline referral. He's suing state gun laws, defying two federal judges, and rejected ICC jurisdiction.
Todd Blanche faces his July 15 Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing to become permanent attorney general with his confirmation hanging on a single Republican vote and a new bar-discipline referral over him. All 11 committee Republicans must back him, making Sen. Thom Tillis's vote pivotal. Nineteen Epstein survivors formally oppose the nomination, alleging a botched redaction exposed them to harassment; Blanche has refused to meet them, and Democrats plan to call a survivor as a witness. Judge Kathleen Williams has referred Blanche for bar discipline over the anti-weaponization fund settlement, escalating beyond her earlier fraud and collusion inquiry.
Two federal judges are pressing him separately. Judge Brinkema allowed the lawsuit over Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to proceed, set a July 17 deadline for DOJ to verify the fund's status, and suggested Blanche may face deposition. He says the department is "not moving forward with the fund, period" but refuses to put it in writing. Judge Sullivan found Blanche had violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act and ordered unredaction by July 2; DOJ missed the deadline and appealed. DOJ also accidentally disclosed the sealed Jack Smith Volume II report to defense counsel. Blanche insists, "We have released everything. We are not sitting on a single piece of paper."
Beyond the courtroom, Blanche is running a broad policy offensive from Main Justice. He sued California and Virginia over state gun restrictions July 1, calling the Second Amendment "not a second-class right," and backs eliminating 702 federal regulations including 30-plus firearms rules. He filed parallel Supremacy Clause suits against New York and Virginia over laws restricting federal agents, and formally rejected ICC jurisdiction, calling the court "increasingly lawless and illegitimate" while refusing all cooperation.
The agenda reaches further still: DOJ launched an antitrust probe into the Big Four meatpackers, Blanche is coordinating with DHS on recovering 146,000 missing migrant children, he is pursuing the criminal case against James Comey, and Senate Democrats are investigating the IRS settlement he signed barring claims against Trump and his businesses. Through all of it, Blanche defends investigating people Trump "has had issues with and believes should be investigated," calling it the president's "right" and "duty," while insisting there is "not a whiff of political partisanship in what we're doing."
On their plate
Blanche faces his July 15 Judiciary Committee hearing to become permanent attorney general. Confirmation requires all 11 committee Republicans, making Sen. Thom Tillis's vote critical. Nineteen Epstein survivors formally oppose the nomination, alleging a botched redaction exposed them to harassment, and Blanche has refused to meet with them. Democrats plan to call at least one survivor as a witness. Judge Kathleen Williams has referred Blanche for bar discipline over the anti-weaponization fund settlement, a new escalation beyond her earlier fraud and collusion inquiry.
Judge Brinkema allowed the lawsuit over Trump's $1.8 billion fund to proceed, rejecting DOJ's mootness argument and citing Trump's consistent support and Blanche's admission the fund remains important. She ordered DOJ to formally verify the fund's status by July 17 and suggested Blanche may face a deposition. Blanche says the department is "not moving forward with the fund, period" but refuses to put it in writing. Senate Democrats led by Cory Booker are demanding written confirmation the fund is scrapped and pressing for a July 21 oversight hearing.
Judge Sullivan found Blanche had conceded violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act and ordered unredaction of sealed materials including emails referencing a torture video, a 2007 draft indictment, and FBI notes alleging Trump assaulted a woman in the 1980s. DOJ missed the July 2 deadline and filed an appeal. Separately, DOJ accidentally disclosed the sealed Jack Smith Volume II report to defense counsel via flash drives on June 3. Blanche insists he has released everything and is not sitting on a single piece of paper.
Blanche filed federal lawsuits July 1 against California's Glock-style handgun ban and roster and Virginia's assault-weapon and large-capacity magazine bans, calling the Second Amendment not a second-class right and threatening action against NJ, MD, and NY. He backs eliminating 702 federal regulations including 30-plus firearms rules via ATF, ending zero-tolerance for illegal sales and removing stabilizing-brace scrutiny. SCOTUS announced June 30 it will review AR-15 bans in Connecticut and Cook County, a parallel track to Blanche's lawsuits.
Blanche sued New York in Buffalo federal court to block laws prohibiting federal agents including ICE from wearing masks and restricting 287(g) agreements, arguing the Supremacy Clause, and directed DOJ's Civil Division to identify similar state and local policies nationwide. He filed a parallel suit against Virginia on June 11 over the same issues. He is also overseeing the DOJ investigation of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife for alleged tax and nonprofit fraud, which Newsom denounces as a Trump hit list to derail a 2028 presidential bid.
Key relationships
Tillis's vote is pivotal for Blanche's confirmation; all 11 committee Republicans must support the nomination, and Tillis has threatened to block confirmation unless the anti-weaponization fund is permanently discarded.
Blanche sued California over its gun laws and is overseeing a DOJ investigation of Newsom and his wife for alleged tax and nonprofit fraud.
Booker is leading Senate Democrats demanding Blanche provide written confirmation the anti-weaponization fund is scrapped and pressing for a July 21 oversight hearing.
Blanche is coordinating with DHS Secretary Mullin on the missing-migrant-children recovery effort, which has recovered 146,000 of 450,000-475,000 children.
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