Todd Blanche's Senate Confirmation Hearing
And a roadmap for today
Todd Blanche is in the hot seat today, or at least he will be when Democrats are doing the questioning.
His confirmation hearing takes place as ICE is forced to stop conducting traffic stop arrests in the wake of the huge public outcry following the deaths of two men, one in Texas, one in Maine, in the last week at the hands of agents who shot them, and it appears, without cause. While that situation involves a DHS agency, DOJ’s role in implementing Trump’s mass deportation policy and advocating for it in court—frequently earning opprobrium from the courts for unethical or less-than-candid behavior—is likely to be a subject of questioning as well.
If you want a quick refresher going into the day on the reasons Blanche is, in my judgment, the worst attorney general nominee in modern times, we discussed them Sunday night in The Week Ahead.
I’ll be following Blanche’s hearing today. Harry Litman and I will get together for a Substack Live at 12:30 pm ET to discuss our initial assessment and I’ll be joining the MSNOW coverage of the hearing for part of the afternoon.
Then Preet Bharara and I will get together for a Stay Tuned with Preet Substack Live at 4:30 pm to recap the day. (If you thought his Dad jokes were bad yesterday on the Insider Podcast—he was in rare form—you’ll want to make sure you join us today.)
And if that’s not enough law for you in one day, I’ll be with Marc Elias and others at 6:30 pm for a discussion about the Supreme Court. It will be a big day and I hope you’ll join in for some or all of it.
We’re in this together,
Joyce
He is an abomination, ignoring legal protocol, the rule-of-law and placing the president's personal interests over those of the American people. Judge William's recommendation SHOULD have been to have him disbarred instead of just reprimanded!!!
Still not sure, but can Blanche remain Trumps acting AG even if not confirmed? I'm not certain Trump even cares if his nominees are confirmed. Look at the mischief Pulte is going to be able to effect on us in his "acting" position. Then Trump can simply appoint yet another "acting" head of department.