Politics

Blanche Meets Grassley as AG Confirmation Hearing Approaches

With Democrats broadly opposed and the Senate Judiciary Committee controlling the timeline, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's path to confirmation depends heavily on how Republican committee...

The Congressional Times · June 16, 2026

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Monday, June 16, 2026, as Blanche prepares for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Grassley chairs, according to a report by the Washington Examiner. Blanche has been serving in an acting capacity following the resignation of former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and President Donald Trump formally nominated him to the position following that departure.

Grassley's role is procedurally significant: as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he controls whether and when a nominee's confirmation hearing is scheduled and whether the committee advances a nomination to the full Senate floor. The meeting between Blanche and Grassley on Monday is a standard pre-confirmation courtesy call, a common practice documented in Senate precedent for nominees facing committee review.

According to the Washington Examiner report, nearly all Senate Democrats are expected to vote against Blanche's confirmation, which means the margin for error among Republican senators is narrow. The current Senate composition — 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats and independents caucusing with Democrats, per the Senate's official roster as of June 2026 — means Republicans can afford to lose no more than three votes and still confirm Blanche with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote, assuming all Democrats vote no.

Blanche previously served as a defense attorney and represented Donald Trump in federal criminal proceedings, a background that has drawn scrutiny from Democratic senators. The specific lines of questioning senators plan to pursue at the hearing have not been publicly disclosed. No hearing date has been formally announced by the Senate Judiciary Committee as of the publication of this article.

What remains unknown includes the precise vote commitments of individual Republican senators, whether any Democrats may break from expected opposition, and the specific date the committee intends to schedule the confirmation hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee's official calendar and any public statements from individual senators would be the primary public records to consult for those answers.

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