The road to confirmation just got bumpier for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
\nAfter surviving a key committee vote Tuesday, Blanche\u2019s fate became even more uncertain as Republican leaders eye a full floor vote to confirm him. That\u2019s because Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is not going to back him.
\n\u201cWhile I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has become increasingly political,\u201d Collins said in a statement.\u00a0
\n\u201cMr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department\u2019s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation.\u201d
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Collins\u2019 decision came after reviewing Blanche\u2019s qualifications to be the replacement for former Attorney General Pam Bondi, including records and his responses during his appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee that she chairs and his confirmation hearing.
\nShe listed several reasons to go against Blanche, including his approval of a \u201cshield\u201d from IRS audits for Trump, his sons and family and the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, which has rankled the feathers of several Republicans since its creation was announced earlier this year.
\nCollins also pointed to his promises to anti-abortion organizations that he would try to halt mailed abortion medication, his attempted indictments of Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., for their \u201cill-advised, but constitutionally protected, videos encouraging resistance to unlawful orders\u201d and pushback from over 1,200 Justice Department employees as a basis to buck his nomination.
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\u201cFor these reasons, I will vote against this nomination,\u201d Collins said.
\nHer defection is a crucial, but not fatal, blow to Trump and Blanche. Republicans can only afford to lose one more vote before the confirmation is dead in the water.
\nThat\u2019s because Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is still absent with no clear timeline for his return. And there are more Republicans who are leery of, or not outright saying, that they will support Blanche.
\nThose include senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; John Curtis, R-Utah; and Bill Cassidy, R-La.
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It all comes after Blanche and the Department of Justice struck a deal with Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, to win their support in the Senate Judiciary Committee that gave explicit direction that the anti-weaponization fund was dead and narrowed the scope of Trump and his family\u2019s audit immunity.
\nBut critics of the deal in the Senate say there\u2019s no real binding mechanism to ensure that neither Trump nor Blanche would just turn around and tear up the agreement after his confirmation.
\nIt also throws a wrench into Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the rest of Republican leadership\u2019s plans to try and swiftly confirm Blanche amid a blistering sprint to a near monthlong break for the remainder of August.
\nFox News Digital did not immediately receive comment from the White House on Collins\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on https:\/\/www.foxnews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"