President Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche, is facing opposition from Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins, who announced she will vote against his confirmation. Collins cited several reasons for her opposition, including Blanche’s promise to an anti-abortion organization to seek a nationwide prohibition on mailing abortion medication to women.

Collins’ opposition follows reports that Blanche aims to implement policy solutions to make the 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization permanent in every state, as discussed during a July 30 conference call with the White House Faith Office.

During Blanche’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on August 5, a majority of GOP senators pressed him on abortion drugs, expressing discomfort with the continuation of what they described as President Biden’s "illegal mail-order abortion drug regime" and the Department of Justice’s opposition to pro-life states challenging this policy in court, according to SBA Pro-Life America.

SBA Pro-Life America stated that Blanche was "right when he said, 'We very much believe the Biden rules were wrong.'" They urged Blanche to quickly settle a case with Louisiana and abortion drug coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich to immediately halt the mailing of abortion drugs while the FDA’s safety study continues.

In addition to abortion-related concerns, Collins opposes Blanche’s confirmation for approving an order to "shield" President Trump and his family from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, for creating an approximately $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, and because the Department of Justice under his leadership "attempted to indict" a Democratic Arizona senator.

Separately, the Republican-controlled Congress failed to extend a funding freeze for Planned Parenthood on July 4, which was part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, as previously reported by the DCNF.

Sources