Murkowski Says She Will Vote Against Blanche for Attorney General
The Alaska Republican's opposition leaves President Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department with almost no margin for error in the Senate.
Washington — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday she will oppose Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general, narrowing the confirmation path for President Trump's choice to lead the Justice Department.
In a statement posted on social media, the Alaska senator said she is concerned the Trump administration could still move ahead with a proposed fund to compensate Jan. 6 rioters, even though Blanche has issued a formal order terminating it. Murkowski said the Senate holds leverage over the fund only while Blanche's nomination is pending, and that the leverage would disappear once he is confirmed.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche this week on a 12-10 vote, which came only after he promised Republican holdouts that he would not pursue the payout fund.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority, but Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is not attending Senate sessions. That means Blanche can afford to lose only two Republican votes if all Democrats oppose him. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has also said she will vote no, and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has not said how he will vote.
The committee vote followed negotiations with GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had threatened to block the nomination over the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service concerning the president's leaked tax returns. Both backed Blanche after being told the administration was not moving forward with a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the Justice Department.
After days of talks, Blanche issued an order Sunday evening confirming "beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund."
Democrats say the order does not go far enough to prevent the administration from reviving the fund after confirmation, and have called for legislation permanently barring it.
Even if Blanche fails to win confirmation, he can remain acting attorney general indefinitely.
Trump, in an interview with Punchbowl, said he is "against Murkowski," adding: "I do more for Alaska than any president in history. No president's done for Alaska what I've done. She's not good." He said his "beautiful MAGA base" would "not be happy" if he backed someone who voted to impeach him.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.