Cassidy Says Yes, Murkowski Says No — and Todd Blanche Now Has the Votes to Run the Justice Department

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said Friday morning that he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, a decision that almost certainly delivers the Justice Department to President Donald Trump's former personal defense lawyer after six weeks of Republican infighting over the nomination.

Cassidy's announcement came within an hour of the opposite news. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of the last undecided Republicans, said she would vote no. Murkowski was careful to say the decision was not about the man. She described Blanche as "decent and capable," said she had held "numerous constructive meetings" with him, and credited him with several decisions she believed would benefit Alaska. Her objection was structural: she does not trust that the administration will keep its word once the Senate no longer has anything to withhold.

The specific fear is a compensation fund for people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — a payout pool that at one point carried a $1.8 billion price tag and that Trump publicly dangled over two Republican senators earlier this month. Blanche issued a formal order on Sunday stating that "there is no Fund," language his allies described as putting the matter beyond dispute. Murkowski's position is that an order can be rescinded by the same official who wrote it, and that the Senate's leverage evaporates the moment the vote is called.

Cassidy did not argue that Blanche was flawless. He said the opposite. Blanche is "not perfect," Cassidy said, but he concluded that the acting attorney general would run the department more effectively than whoever Trump would nominate in his place — an argument that has quietly persuaded several Republicans who spent July threatening to sink the nomination.

The arithmetic is what makes both announcements matter. Republicans hold 53 seats, but Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was discharged from a rehabilitation facility this week and is recovering at home following a fall, leaving him unavailable to vote. That drops the working majority to 52. With every Democrat expected to vote no, Blanche could afford to lose two Republicans. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced her opposition after the Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination on a 12-10 party-line vote. Murkowski is the second. Cassidy's yes means there is no third.

Trump responded to Murkowski's decision in an interview by saying she has not performed well for Alaska and that his supporters would not tolerate him backing a senator who voted to impeach him. Murkowski, who has survived Trump's opposition before under Alaska's ranked-choice system, did not respond to the criticism.

Blanche has been running the Justice Department in an acting capacity while the fight played out, defending the administration in court and issuing the orders that ultimately unlocked the votes he needed. Barring a reversal, the Senate will make the arrangement permanent.