President Donald Trump's nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general hit yet another stumbling block on Wednesday, this time from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
According to Semafor's Burgess Everett, Cassidy has lingering concerns about Blanche's record, saying, “I have to make sure that he is the attorney general who used to be the president's personal attorney, not the personal attorney who is also the attorney general.”
In particular, he cited the fact that under Blanche's leadership, the Justice Department appears to be criminally investigating a former Trump White House official who served as a key witness for the House January 6 Committee — a probe that reportedly began under Blanche's predecessor, Pam Bondi, as a way to placate the president.
“I am concerned about the lawfare, going after people," said the senator. "Cassidy Hutchinson, for example, a grand jury, I'm told, is being empaneled, [and] going after her. Why? Tell me that again. Why? The fact that that's happening ... should concern all Americans, because where does it stop?”
Cassidy is one of a handful of Republicans set to leave Congress due to Trump's fury, having lost a primary in his state after Trump endorsed his opponent.
Another Republican who was ousted by a Trump-backed primary challenger, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), has similarly threatened to oppose Blanche until he can give satisfactory answers on the Trump administration's "anti-weaponization" slush fund and the deal to immunize the Trump family from IRS investigations. Opposition from survivors of the Jeffrey Epstein case is also a factor.
Cornyn abruptly canceled a meeting he was set to have with Blanche on Wednesday ahead of this week's confirmation vote.