Todd Blanche hearing to test GOP support as Senate weighs Trump’s DOJ pick

President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, will face a high-stakes confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, as Republicans confront a narrow margin and lingering questions about his independence from the White House. Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was ousted in April, will […]

Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was ousted in April, will appear before the committee Wednesday and Thursday. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, Trump’s pick to become director of national intelligence, is also scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche listens as FBI Director Kash Patel watches during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The acting attorney general has come far from where he stood just two years ago as Trump’s former personal attorney, who was one of several to be elevated to ranking Justice Department positions after the president defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Now Blanche faces the ultimate test of whether his past loyalty to his former client — and a handful of Republican skeptics — will make or break his nomination and thrust it to a full floor vote ahead of the August recess.

GOP’s narrow committee margin raises stakes

Republicans hold an 11-10 edge on the Judiciary Committee following the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over the weekend. It is unclear how Gov. Henry McMaster’s (R-SC) selection of Graham’s sister as his replacement will affect the hearing.

Two GOP members of the committee, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX), have publicly raised concerns about Blanche and have not committed to supporting him.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), center, flanked by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), left, and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Tillis said last month he had a “positive predisposition” toward Blanche but warned that “if there’s even a whiff of a lack of independence, then that could influence my vote.”

Cornyn said after meeting with Blanche in June that he would not make a confirmation decision until receiving further briefing on a tax audit issue involving Trump and his family and hearing the nominee’s testimony.

The uncertainty extends beyond the committee. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) hospitalization and unspecified return date have further tightened the GOP’s margin in the full Senate.

Durbin says senators will have just 10 minutes each

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) previewed several likely lines of questioning after meeting privately with Blanche on Tuesday evening.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his first oversight hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Durbin said each senator will receive 10 minutes of questioning during Wednesday’s hearing, which he described as an unusually brief format for the questioning of an attorney general nominee. He said the committee will not hold a second round of questions and that Blanche’s nomination will be held over for one week.

“It’s the lowest number, 10 minutes,” Durbin told reporters, saying attorney general nominees in recent years have typically received 13 to 15 minutes per senator.

Durbin said the hearing could be a “wide-open session” and that he expected Democratic senators to press Blanche on issues ranging from the DOJ’s management of ethics, the now-defunct “weaponization fund,” and the department’s handling of the Epstein files.

Epstein files, Maxwell meeting expected to draw scrutiny

Durbin said he asked Blanche what he would tell Epstein victims who are expected to attend the hearing. One witness scheduled to appear Thursday is a victim who believes publicly released information went too far in disclosing her personal details, Durbin said.

The Illinois Democrat also said Blanche discussed his meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell last summer, whom he said had sought to speak with him. Durbin said Blanche told him the meeting was recorded, though Durbin surprisingly said he was unaware of the recording before their conversation.

“I asked him about the Epstein files, and I said, ‘You’re going to have several of the victims in the hearing room when this happens. What is it you want to tell them?’” Durbin said.

He recalled Blanche saying, “I’m willing to meet with them any time and talk to them,” a position the department has maintained for months, even during Bondi’s tenure.

Tax settlement questions remain

Durbin said he pressed Blanche over an IRS settlement involving Trump and his family. According to Durbin, Blanche said he had no role in filing the underlying case and argued the agreement dealt with past matters, not future tax audits. He said he did not find that explanation persuasive.

“I still couldn’t understand the notion that there was any protection from the president’s family and businesses from any future tax audits,” Durbin said.

The settlement stemmed from Trump’s lawsuit over the unlawful leak of his tax records by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty to disclosing the returns and other confidential files. Prior to a judge blocking the agreement on Monday, it had barred IRS scrutiny of Trump and his adult children’s past tax filings, but did not shield them from audits of current or future returns.

White House and law enforcement groups rally behind Blanche

The White House released a lengthy slate of endorsements Tuesday evening ahead of Blanche’s hearing, including support from the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, and 23 state attorneys general.

Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday evening that “Blanche is doing a PHENOMENAL job as Acting Attorney General of the United States. Under Todd’s incredible leadership at DOJ, Murder is down to the LOWEST level since 1900, and we just saw the biggest one year drop in RECORDED HISTORY. Violent Crime arrests are UP 100%.”

Republican senators including Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) have also publicly supported Blanche, citing his work as a former federal prosecutor and his tenure leading the DOJ on an acting basis.

Clayton hearing could focus on subpoenas to New York Times reporters

Clayton’s Intelligence Committee hearing will take place just 30 minutes after Blanche’s begins. Already, progressive groups have urged Democrats to oppose his nomination over recent DOJ subpoenas directed at New York Times reporters.

Jay Clayton, Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The subpoenas, which were authorized by Clayton as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, sought information from reporters who wrote about alleged security shortcomings involving Trump’s new Air Force One jet, according to multiple reports.

Left-wing groups including Demand Progress, Indivisible, and Reporters Without Borders argued in a letter to Democratic senators that the subpoenas showed Clayton was willing to use federal authority to identify sources behind reporting that angered the president, the HuffPost reported on Tuesday.

EPSTEIN SURVIVORS SEND LETTERS TO SENATE JUDICIARY OPPOSING TODD BLANCHE NOMINATION

“A federal prosecutor who will weaponize the grand jury process against reporters — and their sources — to punish disclosures unwelcome to the president has shown the Senate the precise instinct that is disqualifying in a Director of National Intelligence,” the groups wrote.

Clayton’s supporters have argued his prosecutorial background makes him a more conventional choice than Bill Pulte, a closer ally to the president who is currently serving as acting director of national intelligence. But the subpoenas have handed Democrats a new opening to question whether Clayton would operate independently of Trump.