U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced Tuesday that she would oppose the confirmation of Todd Blanche for attorney general.
“While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” the Maine Republican wrote in a statement announcing her opposition to Blanche, who previously served asPresident Donald Trump’s criminal defense lawyer.
Collins cited several actions taken by Blanche as acting attorney general that she said has further eroded the department’s independence. These included Blanche’s initial approval of the controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund that the nomineelater said he had “rescinded.”Collins also pointed to Blanche’s attempts to indict Democratic Sens. Mark Kelley of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan over videos encouraging military resistance to unlawful orders, his approval of an order shielding Trump and his family business from IRS audits, andpromises made to an anti-abortion organizationthat he would workto ban the mailing of abortion medication to women nationwide.
Collins’ announcement came the same day that the Senate Judiciary Committeevoted along party lines to advance Blanche’s nominationafter two holdout Republicans were assured the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead.
The final Senate vote on Blanche’s confirmation has not been scheduled, but Collins’ opposition will make his path even more narrow as the GOP holds a three-seat majority in the chamber.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.