Todd Blanche’s Nomination Suddenly in Dire Jeopardy

Senator John Cornyn has the opportunity to cement his legacy in the aftermath of Todd Blanche’s attorney general confirmation hearing: with one thumbs down vote, he can throw a middle finger at Trump and stop cold Blanche’s bid to officially run the Justice Department. Cornyn is the last remaining Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee whose vote is up for grabs, and Blanche needs every last one for his nomination to advance. If Cornyn votes no, this could be his John McCain moment, an echo of the late senator’s dramatic thumbs down “no” vote that saved Obamacare in 2017.

Blanche had a rough time in front of the committee, defending his actions vis a vis Trump’s $1.776 billion antiweaponization fund, going after Trump’s political enemies, mishandling the Epstein files– the list goes on. Cornyn has told reporters he’s still undecided as to which way he’ll vote. Senator Thom Tillis had been considered to be another fence sitter, but he signaled by the end of day 1 that he was leaning towards a “yes.” That makes Cornyn the pivotal vote.

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He has every reason to do it - not least of all because it’s the right thing to do. He owes the President nothing. In fact, Trump explicitly ended his career by backing Ken Paxton who beat Cornyn in the primary. Unlike the other Republicans on the committee, Cornyn has no future in Trump’s GOP to protect. He has nothing left to lose.

Speaking of the right thing to do, there’s seemingly no good reason to confirm Blanche. The man is patently unqualified for the position of the nation’s top law enforcement official. Just a couple of days ago, a federal judge referred him to the New York State Bar for a disciplinary investigation over Trump’s settlement with his own IRS. He’s facing a separate ethics complaint from 101 former federal and state judges. He doesn’t even try to hide the corruption; it’s not a bug, it’s the whole point.

Cornyn wields unusual power in his position in a coequal branch of government. He’s free to vote his conscience. The question is whether or not he has one.

You could argue the vote would only be symbolic; Blanche is already acting attorney general, and if he loses this confirmation battle, Trump would just leave him in the position to finish out the term. But for Cornyn - and, frankly, anyone looking towards the future beyond the next few months - it’s strategic. This is the last midterm cycle where Trump still has a finger on the scale. Torching your credibility for a guy with an expiration date makes little sense. After this election cycle, Trump is out, and the Republican base will evolve. Rightwing personalities like Tucker Carlson, seeing the writing on the wall, are already building their brands in opposition to the president in preparation for a post-Trump era. Cornyn would be smart to consider the long game, rather than torching his remaining dignity for MAGA approval that he’ll never get anyway.

John Cornyn’s future is littered with question marks. But he can clear up whether or not he has a conscience, and if he’s going to use it.

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