Todd Blanche’s bid to join elite private Washington club hits resistance

“I am disappointed that the club’s standards are slipping on so many levels,” says one member of the Met Club.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and President Donald Trump, speaks during a briefing at the White House shortly after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, on April 25, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Some members of one of Washington’s most exclusive clubs have a message for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: We don’t want you.

Around February last year, Blanche started the rigorous process to join the Metropolitan Club, which is one of Washington’s oldest private clubs and claims D.C. royalty as members. But at least six members have written to the Met Club’s board of directors to object to Blanche’s joining, saying he’s too polarizing and has politicized the Justice Department, according to two current members who have seen or been told about the letters.

“He is targeting a lot of people, and the Justice Department is targeting a lot of the members of the club, like judges, nonprofit organizations and universities,” said one member, who like others for this item was granted anonymity because the Met Club prohibits its associates from speaking to the media about internal business.

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