Republicans were reportedly forced to 'shift' strategy at acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing Wednesday, after their most fervent planned advocate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), died days before the hearing began.
Graham, a senior member and former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, died Saturday after a sudden illness, his office announced. He was 71.
The hearing opened with Republicans needing to find a new surrogate — and with Blanche already facing questions from both parties over a federal judge's ruling on an IRS settlement deal and the handling of the Epstein files.
"My latest reporting is that there's gonna have to be a shift in who says what and who argues what, because Lindsey Graham was to be the most vocal supporter and surrogate for Todd Blanche on that panel Wednesday," Scott MacFarlane wrote Wednesday. "Lindsey Graham, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, former chair of the Judiciary Committee — he was going to come out of the box as the most unbridled champion of this nomination."
"Somebody else is gonna have to pick up that mantle," MacFarlane added. "Let's see if somebody else can do it with the fervor Lindsey Graham was known for."
A federal judge in Florida struck down a $1.776 billion fund — created as part of a settlement between President Donald Trump and his own IRS — and referred Blanche to the New York State Bar for possible disciplinary review, CBS News reported. The judge found Trump sued his own administration in bad faith to extract what critics called a sweetheart deal — taxpayer-funded payouts for his allies and a permanent shield from IRS audits for himself and his family.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger, said he planned to ask about the fund and the judge's bar referral of Blanche, MacFarlane reported.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is retiring, told MacFarlane he has "questions about the slush fund too."
"How is it possible that after being referred to a bar association for potential discipline on Monday, we're contemplating this guy for attorney general on Wednesday?" Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said, according to MacFarlane's reporting.
Senators from both parties were also expected to press Blanche on the Epstein files — specifically, why documents required by law to be released remain heavily redacted, about three months after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired in part for mishandling them.
More than 1,200 former Department of Justice officials signed a letter to the Judiciary Committee urging senators to reject Blanche, MacFarlane reported, saying he had shattered the department's independence from politics.
Blanche showed no sign of concern. At a news conference before the hearing, he made his loyalty explicit.
"I love working for President Trump," Blanche said. "I love you, sir."
