Blanche Clears Panel; House Weighs Censure
Senate Judiciary advances Trump's attorney general nominee as a separate House Ethics panel recommends censuring a sitting Republican lawmaker
Synopsis
After withdrawing a challenged compensation fund, Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to move Todd Blanche's nomination as U.S. attorney general to a floor vote. In separate action, House Ethics Committee recommends censure of Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards for workplace harassment.
AdvertisementBlanche is nominated to the Committee
The Senate Judiciary Committee has moved Todd Blanche's nomination to become U.S. attorney general to the full Senate. A 12-10 party-line vote led by acting Attorney General Blanche overcame some Republican reservations such as Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas who were concerned about a $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of government 'weaponization'.
Under the new rules, a simple majority will be required for confirmation, and no more than three Republicans can defect, if there is a unified Democratic opposition.
AdvertisementHis nomination had been looked to be stalling out, and the turnaround came as Blanche finally withdrew the challenged fund late on Sunday. Not everybody in the Republican Party is happy about it.
The vote showed the rifts that are developing within the party over the direction of the Department of Justice, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has indicated that she'll vote no on the floor.
Collins said that while he thinks Mr. Blanche is a good lawyer, the DOJ has been “becoming more political,” and his efforts have “taken away more and more of the independence of the Department.”
After Trump removed Pam Bondi from her position as deputy attorney general in April, Blanche was nominated to the top job as the personal defense lawyer for Trump during his hush-money trial and confirmed as deputy last year.
AdvertisementIn a separate decision, the Ethics Panel recommends a censure for him
The House Ethics Committee has suggested that Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards (N.C.) be censured, a formal, official expression of disapproval by the full House, in an unrelated congressional matter, but a public rebuke nonetheless.
An investigation opened in May after two young staffers reported that they were targeted by Edwards, the committee deemed there to be "substantial reason to believe" he had violated House rules concerning sexual harassment and hostile workplaces.
Edwards' actions constituted “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female staffers,” the panel's 25-page report said, and he “failed to comply with the spirit of Rules that prohibit sexual harassment.”
Censure does not require the two-thirds majority found in the expulsion procedure, but rather only a simple majority on the floor.
Since then, Edwards has announced that he will “end his re-election campaign” following the committee's findings. Edwards in his reply denied that the behavior was meant to be an advance, but not a sexual or romantic one, "I sincerely regret that my behavior caused discomfort".
Why It Matters
Blanche's rise has been a sign of the extent to which DOJ leadership has been battling intra-party disagreements over institutional independence, even in a GOP-controlled Senate.
The Edwards case comes at a time when the Ethics Committee itself is counseling transparency in the face of the increased pressure it has seen on member misconduct after other resignations recently, and it's a clear case of congressional accountability mechanisms being put to the test in real time.
