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Todd Blanche has been vying to be the next attorney general of the United States for quite some time now. During his time as deputy AG last year, serving in the Justice Department under former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Blanche went to disturbing new heights to prove his fealty to his boss, President Donald Trump—and it finally paid off. In April, after firing Bondi, Trump elevated Blanche to acting AG. Then, last month, he finally nominated Blanche for the top job. But the president’s loyal bulldog faced a glaring problem: In his efforts to win over Trump, he lost the support of some Republican senators whom he desperately needs to secure the confirmation. He’s spent the past month attempting to justify his work at the DOJ and assuage the concerns of key GOP holdouts. In a few days’ time, we’ll find out if it worked.

Next Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will kick off a two-day confirmation hearing for Blanche’s nomination; he’ll need every single Republican member to vote for him before his nomination can go before the full Senate. And even if he manages to scrape by in committee, Blanche can afford to lose only three Republican votes in the Senate. The most critical holdouts so far are two outgoing senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas. Tillis has been the most vocal about his concerns, particularly over Blanche’s settlement with the president in his lawsuit against the IRS. The attorney brokered a sweetheart deal—an arrangement I detailed in this newsletter last month—that would ban the federal government from ever pursuing tax enforcement against Trump, his family, and their businesses over past tax returns. It would also establish a nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to be paid out to individuals who had been politically targeted by the Biden administration, namely Jan. 6 rioters.

“This is beyond the pale,” Tillis said in May after details of the settlement first came to light. “There’s not one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. This is bad policy, it’s bad timing and it’s bad politics.” A few weeks later, after having a private meeting with Blanche, Tillis told CNN that if he catches “even a whiff” that the DOJ would not be independent under Blanche, that will influence his vote.

Blanche’s settlement was not well received by basically anyone in Congress, and it led to a contentious meeting during which the attorney failed to adequately address lawmakers’ questions. Shortly thereafter, Blanche was called to a House Appropriations Committee hearing, where he told lawmakers, “We are not moving forward with the fund, period.” But he refused to put his promise into writing. And a federal judge has reopened Trump’s IRS lawsuit under suspicions that it was brought not to legitimately pursue legal action but to secure a benefit for the president.

Meanwhile, Cornyn’s concerns echoed back to Blanche’s connection to Trump, as he served as his personal attorney in at least three criminal cases in the years and months leading up to the 2024 election. “I’m interested in hearing how he [Blanche] would approach the job, because he was President Trump’s lawyer at one time, but if he’s AG, he won’t be the president’s lawyer,” Cornyn told reporters. The Texas senator similarly held a........

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