Todd Blanche has been running the Justice Department since April, when Trump elevated him to acting AG after ousting Pam Bondi. Trump's formal nomination for the permanent job cleared a two-day Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this past Wednesday and Thursday. The committee has an 11-10 Republican majority — one GOP defection ends the nomination in committee. As of Friday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is leaning toward yes. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) hasn't decided.

1. Confirm Him — Blocking Doesn't Change Anything (Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Chuck Grassley, 23 State AGs)

Supporters say the case for Blanche is simple: crime is down, and a no vote doesn't remove him.

Voting no doesn't remove Blanche from office. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) made the case bluntly: blocking him in committee doesn't get rid of him, it just makes him less accountable. Blanche staying as acting AG is "the only alternative" if the nomination fails.

The numbers support him, backers say. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opened the hearing citing the lowest national murder rate since 1900 and 849 disrupted terrorist plots under Blanche's leadership. Twenty-three state AGs endorsed him. Trump called him "PHENOMENAL."

2. The Meeting Happened — Now Tillis Is Moving (Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC)

Tillis wanted Blanche to meet with Epstein survivors. That happened. Now Tillis is getting to yes — with one condition still standing.

Tillis demanded the meeting before he'd vote, and Blanche did it. After the hearing closed, Tillis told CNN he was "trying to get to 'yes'" but wouldn't vote until Blanche personally met with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. That meeting happened at DOJ headquarters on July 17.

After the meeting, Tillis praised Blanche's "willingness to directly engage." Tillis had been the loudest Republican holdout, so the praise signals real movement. His remaining ask is legislative language that formally kills the DOJ's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, which Trump created through an IRS lawsuit settlement. When senators first learned about the fund in a closed-door meeting, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called it "one of the roughest meetings I've seen in my entire time in the Senate." Tillis needs "absolute certainty that 1776 fund cannot rear its ugly head."

3. The Meeting Was a Box-Check — Don't Confirm Him (Dani Bensky, Epstein Survivors)

Survivors came out of the July 17 meeting angrier than before — and they're saying so publicly.

Blanche committed to nothing. Survivor Dani Bensky said the meeting was "a mere 'check-the-box' exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation." Blanche "repeatedly interrupted us and could not commit to anything that would demonstrate good faith."

Blanche acknowledged he can't give them what they want. He told reporters afterward: "There's something that they want that I don't think I can give them, which is some form of justice."

The DOJ document release exposed victims — and it happened under Blanche. In February 2026, the DOJ released over 3 million pages of Epstein documents. The New York Times found dozens of unredacted nude photos of young women and possibly teenagers. The Wall Street Journal identified 43 victims' full names, including minors, with some home addresses visible in keyword searches. Attorneys representing 350 victims say DOJ never ran a basic keyword search against their client list, resulting in "literally thousands of mistakes."

4. He's Trump's Lawyer, Not the Country's (Sen. Dick Durbin, 1,200+ Former DOJ Employees)

Democrats argue the Epstein files and the IRS deal are symptoms of a larger problem: Blanche treats the DOJ as Trump's personal law firm.

Blanche called himself Trump's "lawyer" during the hearing. He caught the slip and corrected to "I was his lawyer," but the damage was done. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called Blanche Trump's "consigliere."

Over 1,200 former DOJ attorneys oppose his confirmation. They span 14 administrations. Their letter to the Judiciary Committee cited "vindictive prosecutions," the Epstein mishandling, and the "denigration of judges and repeated violations of their orders." Over 16,000 DOJ employees have left under Blanche — more than a quarter of the department's attorneys.

An ICE officer in Maine fatally shot a Colombian man. People close to the officer described him as prone to violence with racist beliefs. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) pressed Blanche at the hearing on whether DOJ would be transparent about the case. Blanche did not commit to cooperating with state investigations.

Where This Lands

Tillis moving toward yes is the biggest shift since the hearing closed. But it doesn't settle the nomination: Cornyn has "concerns," won't commit until the July 30 vote, and wants written assurance Trump has permanently renounced the anti-weaponization fund. Hawley's argument is that Blanche confirmed is more accountable than Blanche serving unchecked as acting AG. Survivors say the July 17 meeting proved Blanche won't deliver accountability and the Senate shouldn't reward him with a permanent title. The committee votes July 30.

Sources