‘He is about Trump and not the truth’: Senator lays bare what Americans can expect from Todd Blanche as attorney general

‘He is about Trump and not the truth’: Senator lays bare what Americans can expect from Todd Blanche as attorney general Cory Booker savages former holdout Republicans for giving up their resistance to having president’s personal attorney as nation’s top law enforcement official - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments A Democratic senator lit into his Republican colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday over their vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Donald Trump’s attorney general. Sen. Cory Booker gave a fiery performance before the committee as he derided how two Republican senators had given away their votes for “nothing” after Blanche rescinded an order directing the creation of a $1.776 billion “weaponization” fund by the Department of Justice — which many feared would be used to hand payouts to January 6 rioters. The New Jersey Democrat noted that the fund could simply be created at a later time, through another order. “This is ridiculous! We got nothing! No guarantees whatsoever that this slush fund can’t go forward.” shouted Booker, holding up a blown-up tweet showing a conservative supporter of Blanche making that exact argument. “Dear God, folks.” “[Todd Blanche] is about Trump and not truth. He is about corruption and not the Constitution. He is about being Donald Trump's lawyer and not the people's lawyer,” an impassioned Booker said. “This is so deeply wrong. We will rue the day that we let this man have this much power under such a corrupt president,” said Booker as he announced his “no” vote on Blanche’s nomination in committee. Blance was advanced through the Judiciary Committee shortly after on a 12-10 party line vote. Two Republican senators on the panel, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, were threatening to vote “no” over the creation of the fund as well as the terms of a settlement between the IRS and Donald Trump dictating that the president and his family businesses received total immunity from IRS audits and the potential resulting prosecution for financial crimes. But both senators dropped their opposition Sunday night when Blanche, under pressure, agreed to rescind the order. The text of an agreement he released on X confirmed that the order was rescinded, but did not bar the agency from issuing related directives in the future. “It's hard for me to say this as a plant-based guy, but where's the beef? Where's the beef?” quipped Booker, directing jabs at Tillis and Cornyn, who is from Texas. Numerous senators including Booker pointed this out on Tuesday. They also attacked Blanche over his participation in the Justice Department’s response to demands for release of the Epstein files, including the interview he conducted with Epstein’s ex-girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. "Ghislaine Maxwell is sitting in the lowest possible confinement after giving no information that helped us get one more investigation started and has been silent, and the man responsible for that we're about to make the attorney general of the US,” derided Booker. “This is farcical." Booker went on to describe Blanche as the worst choice for attorney general by a president in history. Blanche’s fate now rests on a full Senate vote, which the chamber may or may not hold this week before leaving for the August recess on Thursday or Friday. No GOP senators have come out and said that they will vote against his final confirmation yet, but the margins are narrower due to the ongoing absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, who remains hospitalized. Cornyn, addressing the holes Democrats say remain in the DOJ agreement with the Senate, told Blanche at the hearing that he expects the adminstration to live up to his word going forward. "Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the DOJ to live up to this in future litigation, and I will vote to advance him out of the committee today,” said Cornyn. Tillis, his holdout colleague, also said he’d vote for Blanche’s nomination even as he admitted that weaponization of his agency was growing worse under Trump’s second term. “Maybe it's a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one,” said the North Carolina senator. And Cornyn, after the hearing, gave a more revealing admission. Speaking to reporters, he insinuated that the deal he and Tillis secured was the extent of their ability to restrain the administration and the DOJ. "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president when he says he likes the fund and he wishes it still exists,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is, it’s dead, and that’s all we could do under these circumstances.” Both he and Tillis originally had said they were prepared to vote “no” on Blanche’s advancement from committee. Republicans in both the House and Senate have complained about the fund and senators previously confronted Blanche over it at a tense lunchtime meeting of the GOP caucus in June. Top Republicans like Mitch McConnell have condemned its potential use to reward January 6 rioters, including those who got in violent fights with police during their assault on the Capitol and were later pardoned en masse by Trump after returing to office. But the fund has picked up some supporters from Trump’s close loyalists, like House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan. Booker, who ran for president in 2020, is once again being looked at as a potential contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028 as the party eyes the next election cycle with cautious excitement. In a March 2026 interview, he said he was “definitely not ruling out” a presidential run in 2028, but hadn’t made a decision yet. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] FHSE Can be ndone afte Tudy The AntWponton und is get ONORN'SO MR. BOOKER MR