{"id":212,"date":"2026-06-05T04:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212"},"modified":"2026-06-05T04:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T04:39:21","slug":"sen-tillis-vote-is-key-in-blanches-bid-to-stay-atop-the-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is staring down a thorny path to stay atop the Justice Department as he faces a perilous task of trying to convince Sen. Thom Tillis and other key Judiciary Committee members to back his nomination for the full-time post.<\/p>\n

Read more House Passes Ukraine Aid in Rebuke of Republican Leaders<\/a><\/p>\n

Blanche won the blessing of President Donald Trump, who said Wednesday he was officially nominating Blanche for the post after a two-month trial run<\/u><\/span> overseeing the Department of Justice, having taken on the acting role when Pam Bondi was ousted in April.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s support, however, is only part of the battle; Blanche now has to win confirmation from the Senate. Tillis (R-North Carolina), who is not seeking reelection and has broken with the president at times, will serve as the make-or-break vote on advancing Blanche\u2019s nomination out of the Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether there are the votes to move him through the committee, I don\u2019t know the answer to that,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), a member of the panel, which is split 12-10 between the two parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s essentially a one-vote committee,\u201d he said. A deadlock vote would kill the nomination.<\/p>\n

Throughout Blanche\u2019s two-month stint atop the Justice Department, he has become a favorite of many Senate Republicans who are comfortable with him leading the department, either as a Senate-confirmed member of the Cabinet or in his current acting capacity.<\/p>\n

Trump has seemed pleased so far with Blanche\u2019s tenure, especially with the Justice Department securing indictments against some of the president\u2019s top adversaries. Topping that list was an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey<\/u><\/span> over an Instagram photo that prosecutors argue was threatening to the president.<\/p>\n

But Blanche could face a challenge in winning over Tillis, who has increasingly become a thorn in the side of the administration since he decided last summer not to seek another term.<\/p>\n

Tillis has laid down the marker over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key for Todd, or anybody going through Judiciary Committee, is being pretty tight on Jan. 6. They better not have said for one minute that the people that beat up police officers \u2026 were righteous people,\u201d Tillis said<\/u><\/span> Thursday. \u201cYou come even close to saying that, you don\u2019t have a [chance] of getting my vote in Judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether that creates problems for Blanche remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

The acting attorney general touted Trump\u2019s pardons of Jan. 6 rioters and boasted that the Justice Department had \u201ccleaned house\u201d by ousting about 200 employees who were involved in Jan. 6 prosecutions. Tillis had previously declined to support Ed Martin\u2019s nomination to become U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia over his past Jan. 6 comments.<\/p>\n

Tillis has been complimentary of Blanche on other fronts, though, especially for the acting attorney general\u2019s work in helping unwind the investigation into former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the Fed\u2019s renovations. That prompted Tillis to lift his hold<\/u><\/span> and eventually support Kevin Warsh to replace Powell.<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s rough road extends beyond Tillis, as two other Judiciary Republicans \u2014 Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana \u2014 indicated Thursday that they are undecided on his nomination.<\/p>\n

Cornyn is an especially key member given his free-agent status<\/u><\/span>, having lost his primary after Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.<\/p>\n

Read more A Michigan Republican Violated the STOCK Act With Late Disclosures<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not prepared to say one way or another,\u201d Cornyn told reporters. \u201cI think [his chances depend] on his answers to questions that I intend to ask him at the Judiciary Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Blanche\u2019s role as Trump\u2019s former personal attorney could also prove problematic for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hard part about being attorney general is you wear two hats. You\u2019re a member of the president\u2019s Cabinet, subject to his continued approval, but you\u2019re also the chief law enforcement officer of the country,\u201d Cornyn said. \u201cI want to make sure he understands that, because the attorney general is not the president\u2019s private lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy its nature, it\u2019s a really hard job to do, but I want to make sure he understands the difference and is committed to making sure that the law is enforced,\u201d Cornyn added.<\/p>\n

Another key question is whether the committee will even take up his nomination.<\/p>\n

Republican members are well aware that Blanche, who was already confirmed by the Senate for his post as deputy under Bondi, could stay as acting attorney general for 400 days under theJulie Su precedent<\/span> created during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that he expects Blanche\u2019s nomination to move ahead, but said the prospects remain in question.<\/p>\n

\u201cHard to say,\u201d Thune told reporters Thursday. \u201cThis is an environment where nothing is a safe or true bet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most recently, Blanche has had an up-and-down stretch with Senate Republicans after he attempted to assuage their concerns about the president\u2019s \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund to steer taxpayer money to people who argue they were unfairly targeted by the government. His initial attempts did not quell the uproar, leading Blanche to tell lawmakers under oath this week that the fund is dead<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Tillis and a group of lawmakers were seeking a legislative guarantee that the fund was killed before they would pass a funding bill for immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n

The retiring senator argued that it was both a political imperative for Republicans and good for Blanche\u2019s confirmation hopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually believe that getting this issue off the table improves Todd\u2019s chances of getting through Judiciary and getting through the floor,\u201d Tillis said. \u201cIf this is still out there, can you imagine what the Democrats are going to do [to] that man during a confirmation hearing? And can you imagine how that could potentially influence a couple of our members?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take this off the table, Todd\u2019s chances of becoming confirmed as the AG go up, I believe, immeasurably,\u201d Tillis said.<\/p>\n

Read more Senior U.S. Officials Eye Government Shares in AI Giants<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat\u2019s essentially a one-vote committee,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley of the confirmation battle ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"yoast_head":"\nSen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThat\u2019s essentially a one-vote committee,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley of the confirmation battle ahead.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212\"},\"wordCount\":1024,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Congress\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212\",\"name\":\"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before the House Appropriations Committee, Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo\\\/Allison Robbert)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=212#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"\u201cThat\u2019s essentially a one-vote committee,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley of the confirmation battle ahead.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ","datePublished":"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212"},"wordCount":1024,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Congress"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212","name":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-05T04:39:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/89bec245bc63ac3578c261aa59729c1c-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before the House Appropriations Committee, Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=212#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sen. Tillis\u2019 Vote Is Key in Blanche\u2019s Bid To Stay Atop the DOJ"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}