Trump AG pick Todd Blanche faces Senate test in first major confirmation fight since Graham’s death

Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche will face senators Wednesday in a high-stakes confirmation hearing that will test Republican unity on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the first major nomination fight since the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham.

"My colleagues and I are working to fill Senator Graham’s seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee before the Committee votes on Todd Blanche’s nomination next week," Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn told Fox News Digital.

"I look forward to confirming Mr. Blanche as Attorney General so he can continue his great work to crack down on crime, eradicate the two tiers of justice, and wipe out fraud. That’s exactly what Lindsey would’ve wanted us to do to honor his legacy," she added.

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Republicans are navigating their first major nomination battle without Graham—a former Judiciary Committee chairman whose courtroom-style questioning and command of confirmation fights made him one of the GOP's most influential voices.

Blanche has been a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, first serving as his personal defense attorney before helping lead his criminal defense against cases Trump and his allies denounced as politically motivated.

He was appointed by Trump as Deputy Attorney General when the president returned to office before being tapped to fill former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s shoes.

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"When the Corrupt Biden ‘Injustice’ Department and Radical Left Prosecutors tried to throw me in jail, and interfered in our Historic 2024 Presidential Campaign, Todd stood by my side and fought off the Lawfare," Trump posted in part on Truth Social Tuesday.

Twenty conservative leaders penned a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urging him to confirm Blanche, arguing that he has already proven he will "fight back."

The letter, exclusively shared with Fox News Digital and spearheaded by the Article III Project, was signed by conservative legal figures including Article III Project founder Mike Davis, America First Legal Executive Director Gene Hamilton, John Eastman of the Claremont Institute, and others. The signers cited Blanche’s clerkships, his time as a federal prosecutor and his work in private practice.

"Blanche made a tremendous sacrifice, walking away from a massive salary as a partner at a premier law firm to defend President Trump when almost no one else would," read the letter.

"He stood in the arena. Most importantly, he won. Blanche fought back against the most nakedly partisan prosecution in modern American history: Alvin Bragg’s absurd attempt to transform a lawful nondisclosure agreement into 34 felony counts," it continued.

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Democrats have already signaled strong opposition to making Blanche’s acting appointment permanent, citing his close ties to Trump.

"He's got a record. It's not what he says. It's what he's done and what he's consistently done is put Donald Trump above everything else. So his actions, this is a person who's got a very clear record," Vermont Sen. Peter Welch said Tuesday. "His actions speak much louder than whatever he says in the hearing."

"40+ civil rights organizations just came out against Todd Blanche. Todd Blanche is indicting civil rights champions, protecting insurrectionists, and firing prosecutors. All to protect Donald Trump—not YOU," Senate Judiciary Democrats wrote on X.

"Acting AG Todd Blanche has spent this confirmation fight doing what he's always done for his client Donald Trump: Denying the obvious, defending the indefensible, and lying under oath. He's already made it clear that we can’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday.

As for the conservative leaders who are urging Grassley to swiftly confirm Blanche, they say the "case for confirmation is simple."

"Blanche already knows the job. He already knows the department. He is already executing the Trump agenda. Forcing a new nominee through the confirmation process would squander months of irreplaceable momentum–months the deep state would use to run out the clock. There is no reason to delay and every reason to act. The undersigned urge you to confirm Todd Blanche now," they wrote.

The hearing begins Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Fox News’ Caroline Miller contributed to this report.