Trump’s attorney general pick Todd Blanche appears to clear last hurdle for confirmation

Bill Cassidy, the US Republican senator seen as the decisive holdout on Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, announced on Friday that he will support the pick, setting the stage for a major win for Donald Trump.

Confirmation that Cassidy, of Louisiana, is prepared to back Blanche – Trump’s former personal lawyer, and a loyal ally of the president – appeared to clear the last hurdle of his confirmation process, which had been challenged by the defections of the Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.

“I will vote for Mr Blanche,” Cassidy said in a US Senate floor speech on Friday morning. “Mr Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr Blanche; it is between Mr Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr Blanche.”

With Cassidy now on board, Blanche is expected to be confirmed by a narrow margin, probably along party lines, as the Senate works through a final vote series before senators leave for the five-week August recess that starts this weekend.

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