A new wrinkle emerged on the path to confirmation for Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, after it was revealed earlier this week that he privately pledged to make sure that Dobbs becomes “permanent in every single state,” a threat that goes far beyond what he said to the Senate Judiciary Committee while under oath.
Sen. Susan Collins didn’t take Blanche’s deception lightly. She cited his secret admission to anti-abortion activists as a reason for voting against his confirmation.
Sensing his nomination was sinking fast, Blanche scrambled to sit down with Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy to make his case directly on Wednesday. However, early Friday, Murkowski announced she would oppose his nomination, and Cassidy has not committed to supporting it.
That should tell every member of the Senate everything they need to know about this nomination. Blanche had his chance to clear the air with the two Republicans whose votes could sink him, and he walked away with the same problem he had walking in. Senators heard his private commitments to anti-abortion activists and his sworn testimony under oath, and they can’t square the two.
What Blanche told the committee versus what he told activists:
- Under oath, Blanche said he would “carefully evaluate” enforcement options under the Comstock Act, a deliberately vague answer designed to get him through his hearing
- Privately, he pledged to make the Dobbs decision “permanent in every single state“
- DOJ confirmed that his target is mail-order abortion medication, the method that now accounts for the majority of abortions performed in the United States
Blanche came to his hearing to get through it, not to tell the truth about what he intends to do with the office.
The Senate should not confirm an attorney general nominee who cannot be honest under oath, seeks to deceive senators, and who still thinks his job is to be Trump’s personal attorney rather than the country’s chief law enforcement officer.
Published: Aug 7, 2026