A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump's former personal attorney is under the microscope on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee are questioning acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom Trump has nominated for the job permanently. Before the hearing began this morning, we spoke with Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California, who opposes Blanche's confirmation. We'll have that in a few minutes. But first of all, we're going to go to NPR's Jaclyn Diaz, who's been following the proceedings. Jaclyn, it was expected to be tense. Is that what you're seeing so far?
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: Yeah. Well, we are still in the middle of this hearing and have really just started getting into some of the meaty questions from senators. But the most tense interaction so far has been between Democrats and Blanche, like with the back-and-forth with Blanche and committee ranking member Senator Dick Durbin. He pretty aggressively questioned Blanche about the DOJ's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and Durbin demanded Blanche agree to meet with 10 of Epstein's victims within 30 days. So let's hear some of that exchange.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TODD BLANCHE: My heart breaks for every survivor...
DICK DURBIN: Well...
BLANCHE: ...Every victim of Mr. Epstein. Absolutely. And I would love to prosecute anybody that did any harm to these victims. So absolutely.
DURBIN: Will you meet with them within the next 30 days? The last time I ask the question. You can say yes or no.
BLANCHE: I can keep on answering it the same way.
DIAZ: And Blanche wavered before agreeing, but he pretty aggressively argued the DOJ has always said they would speak with victims. This type of tense exchange was expected. Democrats have consistently had a lot of questions about Blanche's handling of the Epstein files and whether the DOJ and Blanche did anything to try to protect President Trump from embarrassment. In the second Trump administration, the DOJ has been no stranger to turmoil, and Blanche himself has been in the thick of many of these scandals. He is widely seen as a Trump loyalist. As you said, he previously served as Trump's personal attorney. The Senate last year confirmed him to be No. 2 - the No. 2 official at the Justice Department. Blanche became acting attorney general in April after Trump pushed out Attorney General Pam Bondi. Democrats, and a few Republicans, have concerns about Blanche's track record over the past 18 months at the department.
MARTÍNEZ: You mentioned how Democrats are the ones with the toughest questions for Blanche. What have they been focusing on?
DIAZ: Yeah. So, so far, Democrats are the ones with the toughest questions for Blanche, and they still have a lot of issues they want to push him on. Democrats have long said that under Blanche's leadership, the DOJ is no longer independent from the White House. They also say it's being used to go after Trump's political enemies, and there is a long list of Trump critics who have faced DOJ investigations or prosecutions. Famously, former FBI director James Comey, who has been indicted twice by this department. And then there's that $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund the department agreed to set up as part of a deal with Trump to end his lawsuit against the IRS. That's been brought up a couple of times already, and Blanche maintains the fund is dead.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you get a sense that Republicans, who hold the majority, are all-in for Blanche, or maybe could there be some notice skepticism?
DIAZ: Well, so far, what we do know is that Democrats are united in opposition to Blanche. So that means Blanche has little room for mistakes. There are Republicans who push back against the anti-weaponization fund, and that played a big part in Blanche's decision to eventually kill the fund. It's unclear how much the scandal over that fund will impact Republican votes on his nominations. Republicans, as you know, have a very slim majority in the Senate, even more now that Kentucky's Mitch McConnell remains out because of health issues. So we are watching for how Blanche addresses concerns from Republicans in the committee and, of course, in the full Senate.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Jaclyn Diaz. Jaclyn, thanks.
DIAZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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