Senate Judiciary Presses Todd Blanche on Conflicts, DOJ Independence

Todd Blanche, President Trump's nominee to be deputy attorney general, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would “follow the law” and that “politics will play no role,” while senators repeatedly pressed him about conflicts of interest tied to his prior work as the president’s private lawyer and about recent personnel moves at the Department of Justice that critics say risk politicizing the agency.

Why it matters: The deputy attorney general would be the Justice Department’s second-in-command and would oversee components including the FBI, the criminal division and national security teams. Senators from both parties raised questions about how Blanche would handle requests from the White House, whether he would recuse himself from matters involving his former client and how he would safeguard career prosecutors and investigators.

Republican Chairman Charles Grassley opened the hearing by praising both nominees for public service, and ranking member Senator Dick Durbin and other Democrats pushed Blanche for commitments that he would resist political pressure. Durbin asked directly whether Blanche…