Collins to oppose Blanche’s DOJ confirmation, imperilling Senate vote
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Maine Senator Susan Collins confirmed she will vote against Todd Blanche's confirmation as Attorney General, dealing a blow to Donald Trump's nominee as Republicans push for a full Senate floor vote. Collins, a moderate Republican known for occasionally breaking with her party, wields considerable influence in a tightly split Senate, and her opposition raised real doubts about whether Blanche could muster the votes needed for confirmation.
Blanche had already cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a prior Tuesday vote, putting him on track for the full Senate. Republican leaders subsequently moved ahead with plans for the floor vote despite Collins's declared opposition, with the coverage not indicating that any further senators broke ranks to join her before reporting on the story ceased.
- Susan Collins says she'll vote against Todd Blanche's AG confirmation
- Blanche had already passed the Senate Judiciary Committee vote
- Her opposition puts his full Senate confirmation in doubt
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Susan Collins is a Republican senator from Maine, known for occasionally voting against her own party's line on major issues. Todd Blanche is Donald Trump's nominee to be Attorney General, the official who leads the Department of Justice and oversees federal law enforcement and prosecutions in the United States. His nomination needs approval from the full Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, before he can take up the post.
The Senate is currently split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats, meaning the loss of even a handful of Republican votes can put a nomination in doubt. Nominees typically go through a committee review first, and Blanche has already passed that stage, but the final decision rests with a vote of the whole Senate. Because party numbers are so tight, a senator like Collins choosing to vote no carries extra weight and can influence how other undecided senators act.
This matters because the Attorney General is one of the most powerful positions in the US government, responsible for decisions that affect the justice system nationwide. Whether Blanche is confirmed or not will shape who runs the Department of Justice under Trump, and the process itself is being closely watched as a test of party unity in a narrowly divided Senate.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters argue that a president is entitled to considerable deference in staffing the executive branch, and that Todd Blanche, having been vetted and advanced by the Judiciary Committee, should be judged on his legal qualifications and professional record rather than blocked for partisan reasons. They contend that senators ought to reserve opposition for genuine disqualifying concerns about competence or integrity, and that repeatedly denying presidents their chosen cabinet officials erodes the normal functioning of government and sets a troubling precedent for future administrations of either party.
The case against
Critics, including sceptical senators such as Collins, argue that the Attorney General must be seen as independent of the president's personal interests, and that a nominee who previously served as Donald Trump's personal defence lawyer raises legitimate concerns about impartiality at the helm of the Justice Department. They believe the Senate's advice-and-consent role exists precisely to scrutinise such conflicts, and that withholding support is a responsible exercise of independent judgement rather than obstruction, particularly given the department's central role in upholding the rule of law without regard to political loyalty.
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Originally published by Fox News as “Collins drops the hammer on Trump’s pick to lead DOJ, jeopardizing path to confirmation”.