Sen. Fetterman Rejects Todd Blanche for Acting Attorney General

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania stood firm Wednesday. He stated he would not support Todd Blanche for acting Attorney General. The official takeover of the Department of Justice is at stake here.

Fetterman made his case during a recent appearance on Jon Stewart's podcast. Reporters pressed him about why Democrats failed to use the Senate filibuster against Trump's Cabinet picks. His answer was blunt and specific.

He said many nominees did not get his vote. When brought back to Blanche, he refused to change that mind. There are some I will support, he told Stewart. But there are many others I won't because they aren't the right person for the job overall. He tries to call balls and strikes with precision.

Fetterman has actually been a strong ally of Trump's Cabinet nominees so far. A Fox News Digital review shows he voted "yea" on half of them. He was the lone Democrat who backed Pam Bondi as attorney general previously. He also helped push Markwayne Mullin through the Senate Homeland Security Committee. That vote went 8-7 to advance him. Fetterman was again the only Democrat for Mullin, joining fifty-three Republicans in a 54-37 win.

So why the shift? It appears Trump cannot count on his support this time around. Blanche faces a major test in the Senate now. This is the first big confirmation fight since Graham's death. Bondi won her seat with a 54-46 vote last time. Todd Blanche will likely have at least two fewer votes than that tally. Fetterman joins Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in opposing him publicly.

Collins spoke up Tuesday about his record. She said Blanche has taken actions that eroded the department's independence. That is the basis for her vote to oppose confirmation. It is worth noting she voted to confirm Blanche as assistant attorney general back in March.

Two other Republicans remain undecided on this issue. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are still weighing their options, according to The Hill. A pair of GOP holdouts had previously opposed the nomination before flipping. Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina switched to "yeas." They agreed Blanche would stop pursuing a planned anti-weaponization fund.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to advance Blanche's nomination to the full Senate. That was a strict party line vote. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the DOJ and Fetterman for further comment but received no immediate response. The political landscape remains tense as the confirmation process moves forward.