Americans Are Looking At The Wrong Two Republican Senators
Fifty-two Republican senators already voted to put Todd Blanche in the Justice Department. Two of them are in the hot seat. The other 50 are hiding behind them.
Keep Your Eyes On The Ball
Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee. For the time being, they won’t vote to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General. They are telling reporters that until Blanche agrees in writing that he’s terminated the earlier settlement agreement he created for the Trumps and their family business, the one granting immunity from tax audits and creating a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, their votes are no.
Blanche has told Congress his DOJ is “not moving forward” with that fund. A court already blocked it. And Cornyn and Tillis still want it in writing. Why? Because nothing stops it from coming back. And because Trump keeps talking it up because we’re now learning this gratuitous sweetheart deal is something Trump doesn’t want to give up.
I’m glad Tillis and Cornyn are doing this. For now.
I say “for now” because I don’t think either one of these guys will stick to his guns. I think they turn. I think they eventually vote to confirm Blanche. I hope I’m wrong. I don’t think I am.
But that’s not the real story. There’s a bigger one nobody is talking about.
The Real Story
On March 5, 2025, when Blanche was confirmed as Deputy Attorney General, 46 senators voted no. Every single one of them was a Democrat or one of the two independents who caucus with them (Bernie Sanders and Angus King).
Fifty-two Republican senators all voted to confirm Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General on March 5, 2025.
Fifty-two.
On the floor, this confirmation needs a simple majority. But it has to clear the Judiciary Committee first, and that’s where it’s stuck. There’s a way around a committee, the Senate can discharge a nomination, but that takes 60 votes, and Republicans have 53. So the door is shut.
One Republican no vote on that committee stops the whole thing cold. They’ve got two. That’s the entire drama you’re watching on TV right now.
Meanwhile, nobody is asking about the other 50.
Fifty other Republican Senators already voted to hand this man the number two job at the Justice Department. Fifty. And not one of them has given any sign they’d hesitate to hand him the top job now.
So why aren’t we holding these other Republican senators’ feet to the fire? Why aren’t we putting them under the microscope and demanding answers?
Ask them why they’ll confirm an Attorney General whose Department a federal judge said has effectively conceded it is violating the law under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.1
Ask them why they’ll confirm an AG withholding roughly 3 million pages of Epstein records out of the more than 6 million pages the government collected.2
Ask them why they’ll confirm an AG whose conduct in the Trump tax case resulted in Judge Kathleen Williams finding that lawsuit was brought “for an improper purpose” and in bad faith, and to send her order straight to the New York and D.C. disciplinary authorities, where complaints against Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward were already sitting.
Ask them why they’ll confirm an AG whose Department has declined to disclose and prosecute the perpetrators in the Epstein case like other countries are doing.
Ask them why they’ll confirm the man who signed off on a fund that already pardoned January 6 Capital rioters, including people convicted of assaulting police officers, could apply to receive taxpayer money. Exactly the way Trump wanted.3
And ask them this one. Ask them why they’re comfortable with an agreement shielding Trump, his family, and his businesses from IRS audits. Something never contemplated, much less considered, in the entire history of our government. Something the judge found directly contravenes the federal law barring the executive branch from meddling in taxpayer audits.4
The 52
These 50, along with Tillis and Cornyn, need to explain why they’re bending over backwards for an Attorney General that Trump seems to keep in his back pocket and treat as his personal lawyer. A man who seems to be struggling to balance the legal and ethical obligations of the office he already holds.
So let’s make it easy. I’m going to list all 52 Republican Senators who support Blanche back in March, so you know exactly who nobody is talking about, and exactly where to point the light. Because if just another 5-10 of these Senators, much less all of them, stood with the Democrats on this particular issue, we wouldn’t have to deal with having a compromised man one or two votes away from being the next Attorney General.
During the Senate vote on March 5, 2025, to confirm Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General, 52 Republican senators voted in favor. For the reasons I already covered, every single Democrat voted against Blanche. The final tally was 52-46.
Republican Senators Who Voted “Yea”
Alabama: Katie Britt, Tommy Tuberville
Alaska: Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan
Arkansas: John Boozman, Tom Cotton
Florida: Ashley Moody, Rick Scott
Idaho: Mike Crapo, Jim Risch
Indiana: Jim Banks, Todd Young
Iowa: Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley
Kansas: Roger Marshall, Jerry Moran
Kentucky: Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul
Louisiana: Bill Cassidy, John Kennedy
Maine: Susan Collins
Mississippi: Cindy Hyde-Smith, Roger Wicker
Missouri: Josh Hawley, Eric Schmitt
Montana: Steve Daines, Tim Sheehy
Nebraska: Deb Fischer, Pete Ricketts
North Carolina: Ted Budd, Thom Tillis
North Dakota: Kevin Cramer, John Hoeven
Ohio: Jon Husted, Bernie Moreno
Oklahoma: James Lankford, Markwayne Mullin
Pennsylvania: Dave McCormick
South Carolina: Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott
South Dakota: Mike Rounds, John Thune
Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty
Texas: John Cornyn, Ted Cruz
Utah: John Curtis, Mike Lee
West Virginia: Shelley Moore Capito, Jim Justice
Wisconsin: Ron Johnson
Wyoming: John Barrasso
(Note: Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona did not vote.)
Read those names. Find yours.
Tillis and Cornyn aren’t the problem. Democrat senators aren’t the problem.
These 50 other Senators are the problem.
They backed Blanche during his nomination and they’ve said nothing since. They’re the reason we’re dealing with this mess. They’re the reason Blanche feels empowered, and Trump feels empowered enough to fight over a one-page release granting immunity from tax audits instead of tossing it aside to get his guy confirmed.
It would be a good idea if you gave your Senator a call right now. Hell, give every Senator on this list a call. The main U.S. Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
These Republican Senators are also the reason somebody else isn’t being nominated. Somebody more qualified. Somebody who understands the separation of powers. Somebody who’s name isn’t being referred to the New York State Bar for misconduct concerns. Somebody who isn’t behind investigating and indicting innocent Americans. Somebody who isn’t OK with Trump’s January 6th slush fund. Somebody who didn’t write and sign a bogus settlement agreement giving Trump, his family members and any company he’s directly or indirectly involved with (hundreds?) immunity from tax fraud. And maybe somebody who understands how important an independent Attorney General is, especially with this president and this administration.
So when you watch the news and see everybody talking about Tillis and Cornyn, remember: yes, they’re the reason the committee vote didn’t happen (at least as of the moment I wrote this post). Grassley’s own spokesperson admitted the markup was postponed “as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee.” That’s a Republican chairman telling you he doesn’t have the votes.
But the other names of Republican Senators on that list are the bigger problem. They’re on board with Blanche running the Justice Department. They’re on board with taking marching orders from Trump. And when he says jump, the answer of these Senators is always “how high” instead of “why.”
What They’re Comfortable With
They’re comfortable that a federal judge found the Trump–IRS lawsuit was filed for an improper purpose and in bad faith, sanctioned the lawyers, and expressly left open the question of fraud on the court.
They’re comfortable that the weaponization fund came out of that settlement, a settlement the judge described as self-dealing, and one she barred every party from ever citing again.
They’re comfortable confirming an Attorney General with pending bar complaints in New York. To put this in perspective, most lawyers have never been had a complaint filed against them with their state bar. Never. This guy is up for the Attorney General position. It’s not OK.
They’re comfortable with 3 million pages of Epstein records being withheld while Blanche looks into the cameras and lies about his Department complying with the law.
They’re comfortable that this man spent nine hours over two days with Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, after which she was moved from a low-security prison in Tallahassee to a minimum-security camp in Texas. A camp sex offenders normally can’t go to. A camp where a whistleblower told House Democrats Maxwell has been getting customized meals, after-hours gym access, and time with the service puppies other inmates aren’t allowed to touch. Assistant Attorney Generals don’t meet one on one with defendants. That’s not how the office works. Unless of course Trump is your boss calling the shots.
They’re comfortable with Blanche’s DOJ going after people who tried to hold Trump accountable for his illegal activities. Indicting James Comey for posting a seashell picture. Indicting prosecutors who charged and successfully tried Trump for crimes. Investigating Senators and generals for making a video reminding American troops they must not obey illegal orders.
And finally, they’re comfortable that he sat down with Epstein survivors for about an hour, only after Tillis made it a condition of his vote, and that the women in that room came out calling him abrasive, condescending, and evasive. The survivors who met with Blanche said the whole meeting was nothing more than a box he was checking to get confirmed.
So no. The problem here is bigger than two senators. It’s all these other senators who have happily gone along for the ride to protect their political careers and profits.
And that, my friends, isn’t OK. And we all need to take action.
What You Can Do About It
Everyone needs to vote in the midterms.
We need to make sure a big blue wave takes back a majority in both the House and the Senate. We need to restore oversight, the power of the purse, and the separation of powers to Congress.
If we do it changes everything. Literally, everything.
But be clear-eyed about the math, because I’m not going to sell you a fantasy. Republicans hold the Senate 53–47. Democrats need a net gain of four of the 35 seats on the ballot. The House sits at 218–214 with three vacancies.
Get that majority in the House of Representatives and it has the power of subpoena and oversight again. The power of the purse. The separation of powers to keep this president and this administration in check. Flip the Senate too, and it becomes far harder for people like Blanche to be nominated and confirmed to this kind of position going forward.
It changes everything.
And I’m bringing this up because this isn’t just about Blanche. Or Tillis. Or Cornyn. Or even Trump. It’s about all the other senators on this list who need to go.
Now here are two honest caveats, because you deserve them.
One: the new Senate isn’t seated until January 3, 2027. If they confirm Blanche in the next few weeks, November comes too late to stop it.
Two: only about 21 of these 52 are on the ballot this year. Cornyn already lost his primary. Tillis and McConnell are heading for the exits. Tuberville is running for governor. That leaves 17 you can actually vote against.
But read what Trump said Thursday. He floated pulling the nomination and sending it back after Cornyn and Tillis are gone in January. If he does that, the Senate that decides Todd Blanche’s future is the one you elect in November.
Seventeen names. That’s not nothing. That’s the whole ballgame.
Vote against them. Put a Democratic senator in each seat.
It changes the dynamics. It changes the operation of our government. It gives you a check and balance that does not exist right now, one that reins in this presidency, reins in the hate, reins in the destruction, and starts to fix the problems we’re living with today.
Fifty-two names. Find yours. Then do something about it.
Mitch Jackson, Esq.
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What the sycophantic republican senators fail to realize is that the felon will turn against them at any time. Each win they give him emboldens him to lie, cheat and steal more. They have made themselves pawns in a game they cannot win. They WILL BE SACRIFICED
I think they’ll fold too. Gutless, spineless, immoral Guardians Of Pedophiles