President Donald Trump nominated his personal lawyer to lead the Department of Justice, and if he isn't appointed, MS NOW experts think he'll unleash a political plague on officials who vote against it. The problem is that some of the Senators Trump could target have already lost their jobs, thanks in part to him.
Senators like John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have informally become known as part of the YOLO caucus (you only live once). Some of them have been more willing to buck Trump's demands after losing their GOP primary races, or, in Tillis' case, announcing his retirement.
MS NOW's Erielle Reshef said that the confirmation hearing is "expected to be an uphill battle."
Thus far, Blanche's leadership has resulted in a slew of suits against Trump's political enemies and "undercut the DOJ's credibility with judges," reports have said.
Crime and justice reporter Ken Dilanian characterized Blanche as "very aggressive in trying to serve Donald Trump's needs as he campaigns essentially for attorney general."
While those actions might endear him to Trump, they're "imperiling his confirmation chances, particularly when you've got some republicans who are no longer beholden to Donald Trump," he said.
Republican strategist Maura Gillespie said that Blanche "has a lot to answer for" and that Trump's may end up on the warpath if Republicans don't deliver.
"I do think that the president is used to getting what he wants, and then when he doesn't, his reactions are very — It's hard to predict, but they can be very destructive," she said. "And we already saw that with this weaponization fund that was destructive to the reconciliation process just a few weeks back. It really derailed it in a lot of ways by even mentioning this. And so I wonder what this will do to that ahead of the midterms."
Gillespie also flagged that the $1.8 billion slush fund doesn't make a lot of sense to most Americans, and Blanche's defense of it will be a key part of the questioning for both parties.
Reshef noted that the absolute earliest that Blanche could be confirmed is August, and the latest is in September.