WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Liberal Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced that she will be voting against the confirmation of Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to fill the role permanently, citing, among other things, his comments in support of restricting abortion pills.
President Donald Trump removed his first attorney general, Pam Bondi, in April, and replaced her with Deputy AG Blanche in a temporary capacity, leaving him in place and eventually settling on him for the permanent position.
Blanche has been doggedly loyal to the president, backing initiatives such as a controversial compensation fund ostensibly for victims of weaponized government, which critics claimed would be used to enrich allies of the administration, as well as his involvement in other legal cases involving Trump, his family, and his political enemies that have raised questions even among some Republicans.
For weeks, Blanche’s nomination had been held up in the Senate Judiciary Committee over these issues, but over the weekend an agreement was reached in which Blanche signed an order “officially” rescinding the weaponization fund in exchange for the support of Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC).
Collins, a long-serving incumbent who frequently plays a key role in presidential nominations, announced on Tuesday that she “will vote against this nomination,” because while Blanche is a “capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” and the nominee “has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence.”
“Mr. Blanche approved an order to shield the President, his sons, and the family business from IRS audits, protections unavailable to other American taxpayers,” she wrote. “He approved the creation of a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. He promised an anti-abortion organization that he would seek to prohibit the mailing of abortion medication to women nationwide. Under his leadership, the Department attempted to indict Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin over their ill-advised, but constitutionally protected, videos encouraging resistance to unlawful orders.”
Last month, Blanche told senators he would “very much commit our resources to stopping” the mail importation of abortion pills from overseas and indicated that additional unspecified actions were being prepared in a call leaked this week. The Trump administration is currently resisting efforts to strike down lax Biden-era abortion pill rules but is conducting a review of abortion pill data that could lead to restoring the in-person dispensing requirement.
Collins conflating pro-life policy with controversies of legal propriety and impartiality is unsurprising given her history as one of the most pro-abortion Republicans in the Senate. However, Axios notes that Blanche can still be confirmed without her vote (provided no other Republican defects) and that she “is the only Republican senator seeking reelection in a state that President Trump lost,” so her opposition may be less an attempt to sink Blanche as it is move to burnish her “independent” credentials ahead of a potentially tough reelection.