Cassidy Says He Will Back Blanche for Attorney General
The Louisiana Republican's announcement comes as the Senate confirmation vote on Todd Blanche remains uncertain.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., announced that he will support Todd Blanche's nomination to serve as attorney general, according to NBC News.
Cassidy's decision lands at a moment when the outcome of the confirmation vote has been described as uncertain. He and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, had both met with Blanche as senators weighed the nomination, NBC News reported. Murkowski has said she will vote against confirming him.
With a narrow Republican majority in the Senate, individual announcements from members who had withheld judgment carry outsized weight in a contested confirmation. Cassidy's public commitment removes one of the votes that had been in question.
Blanche has also drawn scrutiny from state officials. New Mexico's attorney general has sued Blanche and the Justice Department, accusing them of impeding the state's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, according to NBC News. The department has not been reported as having resolved that litigation.
The source material does not detail the reasoning Cassidy offered for his decision, the timing of a floor vote, or how other undecided senators intend to vote.
The attorney general leads the Justice Department and oversees federal prosecutors, the FBI and the department's civil litigation. Nominees require a simple majority in the Senate for confirmation.
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