The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has set up several problems for the U.S. Senate, and this week's big one is the nomination of Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department.
On Wednesday and Thursday, President Donald Trump's acting attorney general Todd Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to defend himself against a number of missteps, including his flubs in handling the release of investigation files for Jeffrey Epstein. Graham's chair will be empty.
Graham would have been a solid vote to support Blanche and likely a good defender of his during the hearing. Without Graham, the GOP can lose just one more vote, but two key members on the committee also recently lost their primary races thanks in large park to Trump. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) decided to retire after a number of clashes with Trump and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost up against Trump's pick, Ken Paxton.
Corny has expressed reservations. Meanwhile, Tillis might be convinced to put his foot down.
After meeting with Blanche in June, Cornyn said Blanche had committed to briefing senators on the tax audit immunity piece of the settlement.
As the Washington Post reports, without Graham and McConnell, there's simply a 1-senator majority, assuming every senator is present.
Bloomberg Law explained on Sunday evening that Blanche is already having trouble with Republicans who want to see him "dispel concerns from some Republicans over his level of independence from White House influence," former Senate aides confirmed.
“This is a devastating loss for America and the people of South Carolina,” Blanche wrote in a post on X about Graham.
One of Blanche's promises to Senate Republicans is that he will not create the $1.8 billion slush fund crafted for Trump's "anti-weaponization fund." One of the agreements in the fund state neither Trump nor his family could ever be audited again by the IRS.
Losing Graham, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, also adds to the problem as it comes to passing what's left of Trump's agenda. At the same time, the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a key member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, means Trump's budget demands could be on pause. Sept. 30 is the funding deadline. If the Senate can't pass either bill, a government shutdown will occur. There have already been two shutdowns this year: one short and one partial, from February 14 to April 30, for the Department of Homeland Security.
Meanwhile, neoconservative Bill Kristol announced a new video hitting Blanche from his political group Home of the Brave. Largely made up of disaffected Republicans and conservatives, the group accuses Blanche of hiding 2 million pages of the Epstein files. It also hangs blame for the transfer of Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to a "puppies and pilates" prison.
"Home of the Brave is here to make sure Americans know exactly who this man is," Kristol said about the video the group released. "All week, as Blanche gets ready to face Congress, we’re running a version of this video as an ad nationally on Fox News primetime. We’re also blanketing DC with street posters calling on Congress to ask Blanche about Epstein."
Their ultimate aim is to stop the Blanche takeover of the Justice Departmen
Todd Blanche is a Predator Protector by Home of the Brave
As he gets ready for his confirmation hearing, we’re making sure Americans know who this man is.
Read on Substack