Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana delivered his vote to confirm Todd Blanche as the 88th Attorney General of the United States from the Senate floor on Friday, was reportedly close to tears as he did it, told his colleagues “If you’re looking for a black or white decision here, you’re not going to find it,” announced he would be criticized and asked “what’s new?”, cast the deciding vote in a 50-49 confirmation, and then appeared on “Face the Nation” Sunday morning to say he doesn’t entirely trust Blanche to uphold the Constitution. He stands by the vote.
“There’s always an existential anxiety, but I am as confident as you can be,” Cassidy told CBS Sunday when asked directly whether he trusted Blanche. “I can’t predict the future.” He admitted he was almost a no. In his floor speech, he outlined his concerns: “apparent lawfare,” the targeting of political enemies with DOJ resources, and Blanche’s closeness to Trump. To justify his yes, he told the Senate that Blanche had expressed concern about the January 6 pardons Trump issued to Capitol rioters. Meidas Touch’s Scott MacFarlane noted on a podcast Friday that he had “never once heard Todd Blanche express an iota of concern about the January 6 pardons.” Legal expert Katie Phang added that everything problematic happening at DOJ was “happening because Donald Trump has christened it and blessed it and wants it to happen.” The concern Cassidy attributed to Blanche has no public record. The vote he cast is permanent.
MS NOW business analyst Ron Insana had the cleanest read on what the confirmation actually means: “If I heard Senator Cassidy correctly, he said that the president will now be in charge of the Justice Department and not the other way around. It will not be independent.” Murkowski and Collins both voted no. McConnell was absent. Cassidy was the last undecided Republican, the one vote that made the 50-49 margin possible, and he cast it while close to tears about a decision he described as neither black nor white.
He voted to convict Trump after January 6. He then confirmed RFK Jr. to run HHS. He just confirmed Trump’s personal criminal defense attorney as Attorney General. Each vote came with a statement of principled concern. Each vote went to Trump.
The Constitution is in Blanche’s hands. Cassidy has existential anxiety. He voted yes.
When the Senate’s deciding vote comes with tears, a fabricated justification, and a Sunday morning admission of distrust, what exactly did the chamber just confirm?
Sources
Raw Story: GOP Senator who assured Todd Blanche’s confirmation makes stunning confession
Raw Story: Trump’s former criminal lawyer Todd Blanche confirmed as attorney general
Raw Story: Key line ‘jumps out’ to analysts in theatrical Cassidy speech
