Video Vault: Blanche Confirmation Gives Trump a Key Justice Department Victory

South Shore Press White House and Washington correspondent Neil W. McCabe discussed President Donald Trump’s attorney general pick and what the confirmation could mean for the administration’s Justice Department agenda.

In a talkback interview with South Shore Press Managing Editor Stefan Mychajliw, McCabe characterized Todd Blanche’s confirmation as an important political victory for Trump while arguing that the administration still faces significant structural obstacles in pursuing its law-enforcement priorities.

Mychajliw: How big of a victory is this attorney general confirmation for the Trump administration?

McCabe: The Senate vote was extremely tight, with Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski crossing the aisle to oppose Blanche and Sen. Mitch McConnell not voting. But the important thing for Trump is that his nominee made it through.

McCabe said the confirmation represents more than simply filling the attorney general’s office. He described it as a validation of Trump’s approach to the Justice Department at a time when the administration of justice has been under intense scrutiny.

Mychajliw: How much was on the line for the Trump administration?

McCabe: A defeat would have been a serious blow to Trump’s political prestige and his influence over Republican leaders. The administration had given Blanche months to demonstrate that he could handle the position, while also confronting the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy.

Getting Blanche confirmed, McCabe said, allows Trump to maintain political momentum within the Republican Party.

Mychajliw: Are conservatives now expecting prosecutions and convictions?

McCabe: The biggest obstacle may be structural rather than political. U.S. attorneys’ offices are the Justice Department’s primary prosecutorial arms, and Trump does not have his preferred prosecutors in every jurisdiction.

McCabe pointed to the Senate’s “blue slip” tradition, which gives home-state senators considerable influence over U.S. attorney nominees, as a major obstacle in Democratic-controlled states.

With Blanche confirmed, McCabe expects movement at the Justice Department but said the administration’s ability to deliver results will ultimately depend heavily on federal prosecutors operating around the country.