Aug 7 (Reuters) – Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Friday she will vote against Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general, joining others opposed to the confirmation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for the post.
Murkowski, from Alaska, said that despite numerous constructive meetings with Blanche, she would oppose his nomination, citing her lack of confidence in the acting attorney general to “check the worst impulses of this administration”.
“I take issue with the handling of the release of the Epstein files; the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses; the statements that have been made to anti-abortion groups; and the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. Senators,” Murkowski said in a post on social media platform X.
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month the DOJ said it was prohibited by law from releasing unredacted files on Jeffrey Epstein requested by New Mexico, escalating a feud with state officials investigating the late sex offender.
Susan Collins, another Republican senator, said earlier this week she would vote against Blanche’s nomination, while a small number of other senators have also expressed concerns.
Senator Bill Cassidy, who has previously voiced reservations about Blanche’s nomination, has not yet commented on the vote, which could come in a matter of days.
Senate Republican leader John Thune said he wants to confirm Blanche before the chamber leaves Washington for a month-long recess scheduled to begin this week.
Blanche persuaded Republican holdouts John Cornyn and Thom Tillis to support him by pledging in writing that Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was dead and that a related tax-immunity deal applied only to past tax returns.
Both arose from a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru;Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alexander Smith)
