In a 50-49 vote, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the now official Attorney General. He received no Democrat votes, with two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, voting against him. The vote came down to Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
He gave a statement after his vote for Blanche, saying “Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this. But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”
Trump’s former personal attorney Todd Blanche confirmed to be Attorney General on slim vote – TheGrio
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EXCERPT:
In a narrow 50-49 vote, Blanche, President Trump’s former personal attorney, moves from being the Justice Department’s second-highest-ranking official to its official leader.
All Senate Democrats opposed Blanche’s confirmation, joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. His nomination advanced after Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana announced his support, despite concerns about several of Blanche’s decisions while he was acting attorney general, including shielding Trump from specific IRS audits and lawsuits targeting Trump’s political opponents.
Despite those marks, Cassidy said Blanche was better than any other acting official at leading the department under Trump and his current administration.