Maine Senator Susan Collins just drove a knife into Todd Blanche’s hopes of becoming Attorney General, and in doing so, she’s handed the Biden-era holdovers and administrative state defenders exactly what they’ve been praying for. In a statement released to reporters, Collins announced she’ll vote against Blanche’s confirmation, citing concerns about the Department of Justice becoming “increasingly political,” according to her office.
The irony is thick enough to cut with a knife. Collins points to Blanche’s approval of audit protections for President Trump and his family as evidence of politicization. She cites the anti-weaponization fund that Republicans themselves demanded to protect Americans from DOJ overreach. She even references Blanche’s promises to pro-life organizations about halting mailed abortion medication, as if a conservative Attorney General following conservative principles is somehow disqualifying for a conservative administration.
Let’s call this what it is. Collins isn’t worried about an overly political DOJ. She’s worried about a DOJ that might actually hold the left’s sacred cows accountable. The same DOJ that spent years targeting parents at school board meetings, that raided a former President’s home over document disputes, that has turned a blind eye to coordinated lawfare against conservative causes. That DOJ was just fine with the Maine Senator. But a DOJ that might actually investigate the investigators? That’s apparently a bridge too far.
With Mitch McConnell still absent and no timeline for his return, Republicans can only afford to lose one more vote before Blanche’s nomination is dead, Senate aides told reporters. Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis, and Bill Cassidy are all still on the fence, watching to see which way the wind blows. The math is brutal and getting worse by the day. Blanche survived a key committee vote Tuesday only because Thom Tillis and John Cornyn struck a deal with the White House, but that agreement has been criticized as unenforceable by multiple GOP senators. What’s to stop Blanche or Trump from simply tearing it up after confirmation?
If Todd Blanche is too aggressive in pursuing the administration’s agenda for Susan Collins, then who exactly would be acceptable? Anyone who might actually drain the swamp? Anyone who might hold the permanent bureaucracy accountable? Senate leadership wanted to push Blanche through quickly before the August recess. That timeline is now in serious jeopardy. And with each passing day, the entrenched interests within the DOJ grow more confident that they’ll outlast yet another attempt to bring them to heel. Collins has made her choice. The question is whether three more Republicans will join her in protecting the status quo.
Providence watches over the bold.
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