Dem
47
GOP
53
To be the next Attorney General of the United States, Donald Trump has nominated his former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, who will do whatever Trump asks without even bothering to consider whether it is legal or not. His confirmation by the Senate could be quite a battle as a number of Republican senators are furious about Blanche setting up the $1.776 billion slush fund for cop beaters and Trump cronies. Blanche later said the fund was dead, but after that Trump said it was alive. Will the senators believe anything Blanche has to say? Probably none of them will, but that doesn't matter. What matters is whether four or five of them vote to reject the nomination.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who was forced to retire by Trump, is against the slush fund and is a possible vote against confirmation. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) said: "We have lots of must-pass legislation. We have now the nomination of Todd Blanche that we can hold up if we feel like he's not keeping up with his promise." Of course, suppose Blanche keeps his promise until after the confirmation vote? Then what will Curtis do? Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is a Republican loyalist who begged for Trump's endorsement and didn't get it, has some qualms about Blanche, citing his conflicts of interest. But qualms are not the same as having a spine. On Tuesday, Cornyn again called the slush fund a "terrible idea," but what will he do if Blanche tells the Senate that the fund is dead and the day after Blanche is confirmed, he brings it back from the dead? Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she "would like to think" the slush fund is really dead.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is concerned. She is probably a hard no on Blanche because voting for him—especially if she is the 51st vote—would end all the discussion in Maine about Graham Platner being a substandard boyfriend and make the entire election about her vote.
At this stage, the senators are releasing all these trial balloons to see how the public reacts. If it turns out that public opinion is against Blanche, this close to an election, they may turn up the volume a bit until Blanche "voluntarily" removes his name from consideration.
But what if Trump doesn't take the "hint" and says it's Blanche or bust? In the 53-47 Senate, Republicans can afford to lose three votes since J.D. Vance is available to break ties. There is a real chance that Thune will decide to allow Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Jon Husted (R-OH), and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) to vote against confirmation because it is politically useful to their reelection efforts. That means that the Gang of Four on the way out, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) will be instructed to support Todd against their better judgement and capitulate again, just as they did on the $1.776 billion slush fund. Maybe they looked for their misplaced spines and couldn't find them. This session of the Senate is not going to result in a new edition of Profiles in Courage. (V)