Don’t give Todd Blanche a ‘promotion,’ national civil rights organization warns Republican senators

Todd Blanche appears poised to become the nation’s next attorney general after a pivotal Republican senator announced Friday that he would support President Donald Trump’s nominee, even as the Human Rights Campaign warned that Blanche has already used the Justice Department to target transgender people and civil rights organizations.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Friday that he would vote to confirm Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense attorney who has served as acting attorney general since April. Cassidy’s support appears to give Blanche the votes he needs despite opposition from Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Collins is facing a tough reelection campaign.

“The last thing Todd Blanche deserves is a promotion,” Sharon McGowan, HRC’s senior vice president of policy and litigation, said in a statement to The Advocate.

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“For months, Blanche has used his position as Acting Attorney General to advance President Trump’s personal and financial interests and to weaponize the Justice Department against the President’s enemies, whether they be transgender kids or civil rights organizations trying to help people vote,” McGowan said. “His notion of justice is warped and dangerous, and LGBTQ+ Americans deserve better. The Senate must reject Blanche’s nomination to be Attorney General.”

For LGBTQ+ advocates, that criticism is grounded in a Justice Department that has made transgender healthcare one of its targets.

Under Blanche, federal prosecutors have pursued records from hospitals and medical providers that treated transgender minors, part of a broader administration campaign against gender-affirming care. The department has also dramatically shifted the federal government’s approach to civil rights, including voting rights and protections for transgender Americans.

Blanche’s nomination has faced scrutiny from Republicans as well.

Murkowski announced Friday that she would oppose him, citing concerns about the Justice Department’s independence and Blanche’s handling of matters involving Trump and his family. Collins had already said she would vote no.

Other Republican holdouts ultimately fell into line after Blanche made concessions over a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that had drawn concerns from Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Because of Trump, neither man will return when the new Congress takes office in January. Blanche agreed to abandon the fund, helping move his nomination through the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Cassidy had remained one of the final uncertainties.

“Mr. Blanche is not perfect and he will tell you this,” Cassidy said on the Senate floor Friday before announcing his support. “But the choice is not between Mr. Blanche and perfection.”

Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, though Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is absent. With Cassidy now supporting Blanche, the nominee appears positioned to withstand the defections by Murkowski and Collins unless another Republican unexpectedly breaks ranks.

Blanche’s rise is particularly unusual because of how closely his legal career has been tied to the president whose Justice Department he would oversee. Before joining the administration, Blanche represented Trump in the New York criminal case that resulted in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts.

Critics have argued that the relationship raises fundamental questions about whether Blanche can operate independently from a president who has repeatedly demanded investigations of political adversaries.