President Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Lisa Murkowski early Saturday, calling the Alaska Republican a “traitor” on social media after she joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Writing on Truth Social at 7:10 a.m., shortly after the Senate confirmed Blanche in a dead-of-night 50-49 vote, Trump posted that Murkowski had “no problem voting for Democratic President Joe Biden’s AG pick Merrick Garland” but claimed Blanche would “weaponize the DOJ and is too political.”
Trump added: “The same Garland that personally signed off on the raid of President Trump's home. Murkowski is owned. Traitor.”
The president's attack came after Blanche cleared the upper chamber by the narrowest margin. Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine were the only two Republicans to vote against Trump’s former defense lawyer, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April following the departure of Pam Bondi.
Murkowski voiced deep reservations about Blanche’s independence from Trump and the White House, pointing to his role in overseeing a controversial settlement involving the president’s civil lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. That deal initially featured a proposed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate allies of the president, as well as broad protections against tax audits for Trump and his family members.
“The country needs an attorney general who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski said in a statement explaining her opposition. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
Collins voiced similar concerns about placing the president’s former defense attorney atop the Justice Department.
Blanche secured the necessary 50th vote only after Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana announced on the Senate floor that he would back the nomination. Cassidy, who lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-endorsed challenger, had previously questioned whether Blanche could maintain independence.
“I have to be sure that he is an attorney general who used to be the president’s personal attorney, as opposed to being the president’s personal attorney, who happens to be attorney general,” Cassidy told The Independent in June. “That's what I need to be convinced of.”
On the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Cassidy said he came around to supporting Blanche partly due to insights shared by former Attorney General William Barr.
“He said that any attorney to represent a client well has to have tough conversations and confront the client with difficult truths, that because of his previous attorney-client relation with President Trump, Mr. Blanche would be precisely the person to push back on President Trump,” Cassidy said.
He later added: “This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances.”
To secure key support from holdouts, Blanche agreed in writing to formally abandon the $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump’s allies and narrow settlement terms that shielded the president and his family from IRS tax audits.
Senate Democrats remained unified against the nomination. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the confirmation a “serious mistake” and urged colleagues to consider the precedent being set.
“If there is ever a moment in history when we need an attorney general above reproach, who is clearly dedicated to ending corruption, even at the highest level of our government, it's right now,” Durbin said on the floor.
Republicans defended Blanche’s credentials as a veteran federal prosecutor in New York. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, gave his endorsement during debate, telling colleagues that Blanche had led the department with distinction in an acting capacity.
“Mr. Blanche is the right choice,” Grassley said.
In a public statement following his midnight confirmation, Blanche thanked senators for working late to finalize the process.
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” he wrote on X.
“I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process. To the dedicated public servants of the Department of Justice, thank you for your work each day to uphold the law and keep our country safe.”
