Todd Blanche confirmation in peril as key senator comes out against him

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's chance of securing his role permanently is hanging on by a thread after a GOP senator came out against him.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Blanche's nomination as Attorney General to the full Senate, but not before deals with two GOP senators had to be cut to secure the vote. Now, Blanche has to secure enough Senate votes to secure the AG role, but Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced she would not be voting in his favor, according to reports.

"While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political," Collins said in a statement. "Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department's independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation."

Blanche can only afford to lose two votes in the Senate if he wants to become President Donald Trump's AG, according to reporting by CNN and Axios, which noted that Sen. Mitch McConnell's lingering absence is also narrowing his margin for error.

During the past few months, Blanche had to battle to secure the support of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) over the weekend said that he won't confirm Blanche after Trump posted on Truth Social that he'll resurrect the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, which critics worry will pay Trump allies and Jan. 6ers. Tillis called it a "payout for punks."

However, Tillis ended up voting to advance Blanche. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) also made it unclear whether he would vote for Blanche, and after the vote on Blanche was delayed last week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he would work to shore up the votes to advance Blanche. Ultimately, Cornyn and Tillis voted to advance Blanche.

Now, Blanche can only afford to lose one more vote. Axios noted that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) haven't said how they will vote on Blanche's confirmation, though Murkowski's state has seen a recent windfall in settlements with Blanche's Department of Justice.