Blanche and Clayton face Senate confirmation hearings

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general and his former personal defense lawyer, faced senators Wednesday as lawmakers opened confirmation hearings expected to probe his record at the Justice Department and the department’s handling of politically sensitive cases.

Blanche appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first of two days of hearings. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence and the current U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was also due before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, described Blanche’s nomination as a “promotion,” noting that Blanche had previously been confirmed as deputy attorney general under Pam Bondi. “We’re not starting out from a blank slate. You have a track record,” Grassley said. He accused Democrats of repeatedly attacking the department and Trump’s leadership.

Grassley also highlighted records released by the committee that he said showed former special counsel Jack Smith obtained text messages that 44 members of Congress sent to White House officials during the final weeks of Trump’s first term. Grassley called Smith’s operation “a runaway political train that improperly obtained congressional information.”

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, responded that Smith had volunteered to testify under oath before the panel. “For reasons I cannot explain, the Republican majority does not want to bring Jack Smith before this committee and have him testify under oath,” Durbin said. “They continue on a regular basis to take exception to things that he said or did or allegedly did, but will not bring him before this committee. I don’t get it.”

The Guardian reported that senators were expected to question Blanche about the Epstein files and cases involving Trump’s political rivals. Talking Points Memo reported that Blanche is likely, though not certain, to be confirmed, and that Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas have said they want answers from him about a settlement arrangement the outlet described as creating a fund that could be used to pay Trump allies. TPM also reported that Tillis has said he will press Blanche to condemn Jan. 6.

Blanche’s nomination comes amid scrutiny of Justice Department actions. TPM reported that the department recently sent subpoenas to law firms about agreements the White House struck with them last year, sent subpoenas to The New York Times about its reporting on a Qatari-donated Air Force One, and threatened to prosecute state election officials.

Clayton’s hearing comes as Trump seeks to replace Bill Pulte, whom he installed as acting director of national intelligence last month. The Guardian reported that members of both parties have criticized Pulte’s background as chair of a federal mortgage regulation agency as insufficient for the intelligence post, and raised concerns about his loyalty to Trump.

Clayton previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term and worked for decades as a Wall Street attorney before taking that role in 2017. The Guardian reported that he has not served in any intelligence agency. TPM reported that Clayton recently signed off on subpoenas to The New York Times and expressed frustration with California’s vote-counting process.

Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social that ICE should continue using traffic stops, calling them one of the agency’s “most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.” His comments followed calls from advocacy groups to remove ICE from American streets after federal agents killed two men in separate incidents in Maine and Texas who, The Guardian reported, were not targets of enforcement action.