Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on Friday announced he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general, clearing the way for Trump’s former personal lawyer to take the job in dramatic remarks delivered live from the Senate floor Friday morning.
Cassidy was the last undecided Republican, making his announcement all the more decisive. Before announcing his decision, he outlined his concerns about Blanche, including “apparent lawfare” and bringing lawsuits against political enemies.
“It should stop now,” Cassidy told his colleagues, adding he was “not entirely satisfied” with the developments, and blaming both parties for the weaponization of the Justice Department.
“All considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I’ll be criticized for this vote,” he acknowledged.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were already opposed, and with Sen. Mitch McConnell absent since a June hospitalization, Blanche can’t afford another GOP defection.
Cassidy’s decision keeps Blanche’s confirmation on track.
Blanche, the acting attorney general and a Senate-confirmed deputy AG, is best known for defending President Donald Trump in his New York criminal trial, a sour source of Republican unease.
That discomfort spilled into the open this week when Collins became the first Republican to break, followed Friday morning by Murkowski’s own opposition. Both pointed to what they described as the politicization of the Justice Department under the current administration.
Cassidy, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his 2021 impeachment trial, spent weeks pressing for proof Blanche would serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer rather than the president’s attorney, a concern about independence Murkowski aired in a private letter that surfaced this week. After meeting privately with the nominee days earlier, Cassidy came away satisfied.
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