The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing for July 15 and 16, setting the stage for what is expected to be one of the most politically charged Cabinet confirmation fights of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Judiciary Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) confirmed the timeline Tuesday after meeting with Blanche, saying the committee was able to move forward after receiving the nominee’s paperwork late last week.
“By the way, I think we can announce today that we’re having the hearing July 15, because we just got his papers last night,” Grassley told reporters. He added that, barring any unexpected opposition, Blanche could possibly advance before the Senate leaves for the August recess.
The committee is planning a two-day hearing process, according to sources familiar with the matter, with Blanche, the deputy attorney general and current acting attorney general, expected to testify on the first day, followed by an expert witness panel on July 16.
The scheduling comes after Blanche submitted the key nomination paperwork required to trigger the committee’s 28-day waiting period, clearing the way for Republicans to move ahead with the hearing next month.
Blanche has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since former Attorney General Pam Bondi resigned earlier this year. Trump formally nominated him to permanently lead the department earlier this month.
Blanche spent Tuesday meeting privately with senators across Capitol Hill, including several Republicans viewed as possible skeptics or swing votes on his nomination.
With Democrats expected to uniformly oppose Blanche, Republicans have little room for defections in committee. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX), both members of the Judiciary Committee, have not yet publicly committed to supporting the nomination.
Tillis said Tuesday he is still vetting Blanche and plans to meet with him next week.
“No, I’m meeting with him next week, and we’re just going through the vetting process right now,” Tillis said when asked whether he had decided how to vote. “I haven’t seen anything that, from a January 6 perspective, that would be a problem.”
Still, Tillis indicated he remains concerned about Blanche’s now-withdrawn proposal for a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, which critics argued could have been used to target political adversaries.
“It’ll be an issue if the weaponization fund isn’t effectively dead by the confirmation hearing,” Tillis said. “I’ve still got a real problem with it being out there.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), another closely watched Republican vote who’s in a battleground Senate race, said Blanche assured her the proposal would not move forward.
“We had an extensive discussion on the anti-weaponization fund, which he has assured me with no equivocation at all that he is not for it, will not pursue it, will not exist,” Collins told reporters following a meeting with Blanche.
Grassley struck a more optimistic tone about Blanche’s prospects, noting the nominee previously cleared the Senate as deputy attorney general.
“I haven’t had any negative comments from anybody that voted for him as deputy, and he got all the votes,” Grassley said.
His close relationship with Trump, whom Blanche represented in multiple high-profile criminal and civil matters, has fueled concerns among Democrats about whether he could act independently as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
In his Senate questionnaire, Blanche said he left his law firm in 2023 “primarily to represent President Donald Trump” in the Manhattan hush money case involving Stormy Daniels. He also represented Trump in the prosecutions brought by former special counsel Jack Smith and advised him in several additional investigations and civil matters between 2023 and 2025.
Blanche has already faced scrutiny during his time at the Justice Department, including criticism over the anti-weaponization fund. More recently, reports that the DOJ is investigating Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a prominent Trump political rival, have drawn attention.
Following his meeting with Blanche, Grassley released a statement praising the nominee and signaling support for moving the process ahead quickly.
“I appreciate the opportunity to sit down again with Todd Blanche, who’s spent the last year and a half supporting President Trump’s mission of law and order as Deputy Attorney General and now Acting Attorney General,” Grassley said in the statement. “Blanche is prepared to build on that success and continue working hard to keep American families safe as the next Attorney General.”
BLANCHE MEETS WITH GRASSLEY AS HE LOOKS TO SECURE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONFIRMATION
Grassley also said he expects Blanche to cooperate with congressional oversight requests if confirmed.
“In all my years of congressional oversight, this Department of Justice has been the most responsive to my oversight requests — but there’s still more work to be done and more records to be produced,” Grassley said. “I expect Blanche to respond to my outstanding requests for records, so the American people get the transparency and accountability they deserve.
“I look forward to moving ahead with Blanche’s nomination, and anticipate chairing his hearing in July,” he said.