Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he will not support moving Todd Blanche’s nomination for U.S. attorney general out of the Senate Judiciary Committee unless Blanche meets with survivors connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Tillis made the condition at a Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, when witnesses and lawmakers discussed Blanche’s nomination. Multiple outlets report Tillis tied his decision to whether Blanche holds the requested meeting with Epstein survivors who have reached out to the Justice Department.
Tillis’s stance is described as a prerequisite to “get to yes” and to clear the committee, where his vote is presented as necessary for the nomination to gain full Republican support. PBS and other reports characterize Blanche as the acting attorney general and note that Tillis said he would not vote to advance the nomination absent the meeting. Financial Times frames the issue as overshadowing the confirmation process due to the connection to the Epstein scandal. The outlets also report that Tillis expresses a favorable view of Blanche, but maintains the meeting with survivors as the deciding factor.
