Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gets sworn in at his confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

In a party line vote of 12-10, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general on Wednesday; a full Senate vote is expected in the coming days. The vote prompted a wave of criticism from feminist leaders, democracy advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who warned President Donald Trump’s former personal defense attorney has repeatedly demonstrated his loyalty to the president over the Constitution, and could further erode the Justice Department’s independence at a pivotal moment for U.S. democracy, while also threatening access to reproductive healthcare.

Blanche’s confirmation battle follows months of controversy over his leadership of the Justice Department, including criticism of his handling of the Epstein files, allegations that he politicized federal law enforcement, and repeated assurances to antiabortion activists that he would revisit longstanding Justice Department positions protecting access to medication abortion. Ahead of his confirmation hearing, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, joined by dozens of national organizations (including the Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms.), urged senators to reject the nomination, arguing Blanche had “turned the DOJ into an instrument of Trump’s personal rage and revenge” rather than serving the public interest.

During debate ahead of Wednesday’s vote, senators on the committee returned to the same concern: Blanche’s record as acting attorney general and deputy attorney general suggests he would continue to wield the nation’s top law enforcement office as an extension of Trump’s political interests, rather than an independent institution charged with serving the American people.

And as the Senate prepared to vote on Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, another major development emerged, adding fresh urgency to warnings from reproductive rights advocates: A new Politico report reveals Blanche privately pledged antiabortion leaders the DOJ would pursue a crackdown on medication abortion if confirmed with the goal of “the Dobbs decision [becoming] permanent in every single state.”

The Justice Department as Trump’s Personal Legal Apparatus

The sharpest criticism centered on Blanche’s relationship with the president. Democrats on the committee argued Blanche never separated his role as Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, from his responsibilities leading the Justice Department.

“He is not America’s lawyer,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said on the Senate floor. “He is about to become Trump’s sword against his adversaries and shield against any scrutiny.”

This is all hat and no cattle. Even conservatives admit Todd Blanche’s guarantees aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. No protection against the slush fund. No accountability if the President cheats on his taxes again.

The American people deserve better. pic.twitter.com/1cGbsQP8uZ

— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) August 4, 2026

Booker accused Blanche of consistently placing Trump’s interests ahead of the public’s: “We are turning the ideals of justice in this committee into a mockery by letting the least qualified person, a person proven to do Donald Trump’s will, over the law.”

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) argued that Blanche “has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump,” adding that he “will only do what’s best for Donald Trump.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) distilled the concern even further: “Maya Angelou famously said, ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.’ Todd Blanche is Donald Trump’s lawyer.”

DOJ Independence and the Rule of Law

Lawmakers also warned Blanche’s tenure has coincided with a dramatic transformation inside the Justice Department itself.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) pointed to the departure of more than 16,000 DOJ employees—including more than one-fourth of the department’s attorneys—and argued many career officials had been pushed out for refusing politically motivated directives or unethical orders.

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) (R) speaks, and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) (L) and committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) listen, before the vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to be U.S. attorney general on Aug. 4, 2026. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

“This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans,” Durbin said. “This is about rule of law versus lawlessness.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) similarly questioned whether Blanche could preserve the department’s independence “as the president tries to use the department to undermine our democracy ahead of the midterms”—a concern shared by former Justice Department officials, more than 1,200 of whom urged senators to reject Blanche’s nomination in a public letter last month.

Epstein Survivors, Accountability and Public Trust

The debate repeatedly returned to the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the administration’s response to the political fallout surrounding their release.

Courtney Wild (at the podium) at a rally at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 3, 2025. Second from right is Haley Robson and far right is Danielle Bensky. The rally was hosted by World Without Exploitation, ahead of a press conference with victims of Epstein and Maxwell, their friends and family, civilian supporters, and members of Congress. (Jenny Warburg)

Booker alleged that White House officials, including Blanche, met in the Situation Room not to confront questions about accountability, but to strategize around Trump’s political exposure—an “emergency meeting … at which Todd Blanche was there to say, ‘What are we going to do, because the president appears in the Epstein files hundreds of times,'” Booker said. “They didn’t get together to say, ‘This is really bad. This is eroding trust in the justice system.'”

The comments built on weeks of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files, including the inadvertent disclosure of survivors’ personal information and criticism that Blanche initially declined to meet directly with survivors before later agreeing to do so amid mounting pressure.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) gathers with other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche. Blanche’s nomination had been previously postponed after Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis raised concerns over the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” (Win McNamee / Getty Images) Republicans and Accountability

Several Democratic senators also argued that Republican lawmakers were overlooking conduct they said would be disqualifying under any other administration.

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have done nothing to stop Todd Blanche from becoming our top law enforcement official. Meanwhile the President pockets $2 billion from his own crypto coin, foreign nations invest, and corporations put his kids on boards for no-bid deals. The… pic.twitter.com/779Z0lp6N9

— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) August 4, 2026

“Our Republican colleagues see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said during debate.

While Republican concerns over the administration’s now-abandoned “anti-weaponization” settlement fund briefly threatened Blanche’s nomination, GOP senators ultimately allowed it to move forward after receiving assurances from Blanche and the White House.

The Stakes for Reproductive Rights

Reproductive rights advocates have been warning about Blanche’s nomination since long before Wednesday’s vote. During his confirmation hearing ladt month, Blanche signaled he was open to revisiting the Justice Department’s interpretation of the Comstock Act—a move antiabortion groups have long sought as a pathway to restricting the mailing of abortion pills nationwide. And now we know Blanche privately assured antiabortion leaders he intended to ban abortion nationwide if confirmed.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) highlighted Blanche’s previous remarks to antiabortion activists, warning his confirmation could have nationwide consequences for abortion access.

“A vote to confirm Todd Blanche is a vote ‘so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state,'” Murray wrote on X. “Senators who vote for Blanche are voting for an Attorney General who will attack abortion rights in EVERY state.”

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A note from Ms. editors: We want to hear from you for The Majority, a new campaign collecting stories about how reproductive freedom has enabled readers to build the lives they want and need. Poll after poll shows a majority of Americans support reproductive healthcare access. Yet public debate overlooks the lives shaped by abortion access, contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, maternal healthcare or comprehensive sex education—countless women who chose to pursue an education, have children, not have children, protect their health and chart their own future. Add your voice and complete the sentence: “Access to reproductive choices gave me the freedom to….” Together, these stories will help show not only why reproductive freedom remains a majority value, but also what it makes possible. 

Look to these trusted groups if you or a loved one needs to know more about reliable abortion care:

• A one-stop-shop for abortion seekers: I Need An A
• Other websites to explore all your options for abortion care: Plan C Pills, Abortion Finder
• Safe websites to buy abortion medication: Aid Access, Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, Hey Jane
• If you need help affording abortion care, tell your telemedicine provider or contact an abortion fund near you.
• To protect your digital privacy when planning your abortion, click here.
• For free legal help as a patient or doctor, call If/When/How’s Repro Helpline—844-868-2812—or contact Pregnancy Justice.
• For medical advice, contact the Miscarriage & Abortion Hotline: 833-246-2632.
• If you need to know the abortion law in your state, look to the Center for Reproductive Rights. or Guttmacher Institute.