As a top Justice Department official, Todd Blanche has spoken openly about his connection to Check-Mate Industries, a maker of firearm magazines that has longstanding ties to his wife’s family. His father-in-law founded the company, and his mother-in-law serves as its chairman and chief executive.
That family connection is expected to emerge as a point of contention during Mr. Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday to be attorney general. Democrats and advocates for stricter gun control have questioned whether those industry links pose a serious conflict of interest and to what degree they influence policy: Already, Mr. Blanche has played a prominent role in the administration’s effort to unravel gun regulations.
“In recent months, the department has announced over 30 rules that would make significant and sweeping changes to federal firearms regulations — changes from which Check-Mate Industries and the broader firearms industry stand to benefit,” Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, wrote in a letter sent to Mr. Blanche Tuesday night.
The Justice Department did not respond to questions about Mr. Blanche’s connection to Check-Mate Industries.
In an April interview at the annual convention of the National Rifle Association, shortly after he succeeded Pam Bondi as the acting attorney general, Mr. Blanche cited his family ties to Check-Mate Industries while noting his commitment to President Trump’s directive to expand gun rights.
Mr. Blanche, calling himself a member of the gun industry, previewed what he described a “sea change” of rollbacks to gun regulations that the Justice Department has since set into motion.
“Any gun owner, anybody who’s in the industry, whether you’re a manufacturer, whether you’re a reseller, they’re going to realize that this administration is going to do more to restore rights to where they belong than any administration in history,” Mr. Blanche said.
Under Mr. Trump, the Justice Department has sued to invalidate state and local gun bans and moved to roll back dozens of gun regulations, including reducing requirements for and oversight of the gun industry.
At a news conference days later announcing the changes in regulations, Mr. Blanche noted that the department had “listened to industry leaders” in making its proposals. Representatives of the gun industry and gun rights advocacy groups praised him for his role in the reversals, while critics said the moves closely mirrored the demands made by gun owners and manufacturers.
The Justice Department also did not respond to questions about whether a visit by Mr. Blanche in November to one of Check-Mate Industries’ manufacturing facilities was made in his official capacity. In a post on social media that Mr. Blanche’s mother-in-law also shared, the company said it had “the honor of hosting United States Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,” accompanied by a photograph of Mr. Blanche in jeans and a hoodie.
In his letter, Mr. Schiff, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also pressed Mr. Blanche to clarify whether he or his wife had a financial stake in Check-Mate Industries. (The company was not named in Mr. Blanche’s personal financial disclosure from 2025.)
John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group founded by Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, urged Mr. Blanche to recuse himself from matters involving the gun industry.
“His actions so far give every indication that as attorney general he will continue to put his family business and industry profits ahead of public safety,” Mr. Feinblatt said in a statement. “The Senate should add this to the long list of reasons to oppose his nomination and demand he commit to recusing himself from every gun industry matter at the Justice Department if confirmed.”
Cabinet officials under past presidents have generally sought to distance themselves from the industries they regulate. In his second term, Mr. Trump has nominated officials with uncharacteristically large lists of potential conflicts of interest.
But rarely have attorneys general been known to recuse themselves, even after facing a storm of controversy. Notably, Jeff Sessions, the top law enforcement official in the first Trump administration, recused himself from any investigation into whether Russia had meddled in the 2016 presidential election. Eric Holder, President Barack Obama’s attorney general, recused himself from a widely criticized Justice Department investigation that resulted in subpoenas for the phone records of reporters.
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