On Friday, August 7th, 2026, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy declared he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, paving the way for Blanche to lead the Justice Department in a permanent role. Cassidy acknowledged that "Mr. Blanche is not perfect," but emphasized the choice was between Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not effectively run the department under President Trump. He stated, "This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances. All considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche."

Blanche's confirmation is expected to pass by a narrow margin, as Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have already announced their opposition, making Cassidy's vote decisive. The Justice Department had negotiated for weeks with key Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, to secure their backing for Blanche.

During his confirmation hearing, Blanche faced scrutiny over the Justice Department's handling of the release of more than 3 million pages of documents from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his meeting last year with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Blanche acknowledged that "mistakes were made" with some of the Epstein documents, which contained unredacted names and personal information of victims.

Cassidy warned that failing to confirm Blanche "puts at risk the progress made fighting violent crime, human and drug trafficking, and fraud," and added, "This does not serve the American people well."

Sources