Todd Blanche Faces Tough Senate Confirmation Hearing for Attorney General

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general, faced intense scrutiny as the Senate Judiciary Committee opened confirmation hearings on his nomination, Ben Wieder reported for the Los Angeles Times.

Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche during a press conference. (Photo: The White House)

Blanche, who is serving as acting attorney general and previously represented Trump as his personal defense attorney, is expected to face extensive questioning over several of the Justice Department's most controversial actions.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will decide whether to advance Blanche's nomination to the full Senate. The hearing is scheduled to continue Thursday.

"I would expect committee Democrats to treat Blanche's hearing as an opportunity to conduct oversight of the Department of Justice," said Phil Brest, president of the American Constitution Society and a former senior Democratic committee staff member.

"It's a test of the Senate's willingness to probe the department's operations and to actually serve as a check on the department and the administration more broadly," Brest added.

Democratic senators are expected to question Blanche about the proposed US$1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, the Justice Department's handling of the so-called Epstein files, and investigations involving political opponents of President Trump, including former FBI Director James Comey.

"While deploying the DOJ as a shield for the president and his cronies, Blanche has also used our top law enforcement agency as a sword against Trump's political opponents," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.

"The independence of the DOJ has been decimated under Blanche's authority," Durbin added.