Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing questions Wednesday about Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, President Donald Trump and sanctuary cities by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will likely pave the way to his full confirmation as attorney general.
If the committee clears his nomination, it will then go to the entire Senate for a vote. Blanche would be the permanent successor to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who left her role in early April.
“Every senator here has constituents who just want to be safe,” Blanche said in his opening statement.
“We are keeping America safe, and we are just getting started,” he later added.
Blanche was questioned about the Epstein Files and his relationship with Trump, who he used to represent privately, whereas topics like urban crime task forces in cities like Memphis and fraud crackdowns were also brought up.
"Has he ever asked you to do anything illegal?" Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked of Blanche.
“No,” he replied.
“Would you do it if he asked you?”
.@SenJohnKennedy: "Have you ever seen a President of the United States appoint an enemy to be Attorney General?... I mean one president appointed his brother."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 15, 2026
"Has he ever asked you to do anything illegal?"@DAGToddBlanche: "No." https://t.co/UZaBz5iJPo pic.twitter.com/uLm9eoLZoe
“Absolutely not,” Blanche responded. Kennedy ended up saying that “it just seems to me that no fair-minded person could conclude that you're not qualified."
On Epstein, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) asked if there was conversation between the DOJ and convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell about a pardon, clemency or sending her to a different prison.
Blanche repeatedly denied that those conversations took place, but the New Jersey Democrat cut Blanche off, citing time constraints, as he was giving an answer about Maxwell being moved to a different prison.
“This is why your nomination should fail. The attorney general’s client is not the president, it’s the American people,” Booker said.
Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche has had ENOUGH of Corey Booker's performative questioning:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 15, 2026
"You can ask the questions but you cannot control my answers! I'm under oath, and I can answer the questions as I choose to answer them!" 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/vfTOa4vvYB
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a Trump critic, also called out Democrats for questions accusing the Trump administration of lawfare.
“President Biden did everything that you’re accusing President Trump of doing,” Tillis said.
“Let’s just be real here, people, if we’re going to criticize one administration: Look in the mirror before you do it,” he added.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) also asked if the DOJ will take steps to combat cities, counties and states that do not allow local law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"Will you use every tool that you have in your toolbox to go after these sanctuary jurisdictions?" Schmitt asked.
“I mean, absolutely […] there are thousands of examples of our law enforcement agents being put at risk,” Blanche said about federal authorities having to arrest someone in public rather than picking them up from a local jail or prison, even if they “have a final order of deportation.”