Seeking to shore up support to become President Donald Trump's next attorney general, embattled Acting AG Todd Blanche reached out to faith leaders last week to assure them he will do all he can for the anti-abortion movement as his confirmation "hung by a thread," according to a new report.
A recorded call between Blanche and faith leaders surfaced, revealing commitments far more expansive than what he disclosed during his confirmation hearing, Politico is reporting.
On the call hosted by the White House Faith Office and posted online by the religious group Intercessors for America, Blanche told faith leaders the Justice Department was "working hand in hand" with federal health agencies and the White House to ensure the Dobbs decision "becomes permanent in every single state."
"We don't have complete victory yet, but we will have victory, and victory will be soon, and it will be permanent," Blanche vowed.
According to the report, the remarks "go far beyond the actions on abortion he promised during his confirmation hearing." During the call, Blanche indicated specific actions targeting abortion pill access, describing how the administration is "putting practices and policies in place" to stop shipment of medications to states where they are banned.
"If states have said, 'We are going to protect the unborn and we're going to protect every life from the moment of conception,' we're putting practices and policies in place so that other states and other organizations can't attack that. They can't do things like they're doing with mailing in mail-order drugs," Blanche said.
The call contradicts President Donald Trump's campaign promises to keep the federal government from enforcing restrictions on abortion pills. It also conflicts with what Blanche told senators during his confirmation process.
The recording surfaced days before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Tuesday vote on his nomination.
