Todd Blanche should not be attorney general. That won't likely stop Republican senators.

Also: The Trump administration is taking on law enforcement — to try and protect semi-automatic guns. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.

Jul 16, 2026

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You did not need to watch Wednesday and Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings over Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general to know that he should not be confirmed as attorney general.

President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, Blanche has been involved in many of the Justice Department’s actions that were political goals aimed at pleasing Trump, inappropriate legal moves, or some combination of the two. From his first day on the job, Blanche has made it clear he is in office to serve Trump, not the people.

What’s more, since then-Attorney General Pam Bondi left office on April 2 and Blanche took over as acting attorney general, his auditioning for the permanent job showed just how pliable he plans to be — calling news conferences regularly and issuing reports to get Trump’s attention and show just how loyal he is to Trump, with little to no regard for the law.

Blanche is, as he said Wednesday, “his lawyer.”

Of course, that loyalty had reached a crescendo with his May 18 announcement of the “Anti-Weaponization” slush fund and his follow-up purported immunity grant. As U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams put it on July 13, referring to Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward:

Instead of either recusing because of their previous representations or vigorously defending this lawsuit as required to do so by DOJ policies and procedures, these lawyers agreed to a “settlement” involving a staggering amount of money potentially benefitting former clients.

More broadly, of DOJ’s actions, she concluded:

In abdicating its responsibility to zealously defend the interests of the United States, the Government entered into a “settlement” that deviated from its litigation posture in similar actions, disregarded DOJ policies, and accomplished objectives beyond those authorized, as well as those specifically prohibited, by law.

These are not the actions of or advanced by an attorney general. These are the actions of a lap dog.

Like Emil Bove before him (and others since), however, Trump seeks to reward his lawyers. While others got judgeships, Blanche has proven to Trump that he can handle one of the most important roles in Trump’s effort: To help run a government of Trump, not of laws.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has made it abundantly, embarrassingly clear that he is merely a stand-in for Trump — an abdication of his responsibility to his office, to Congress, and to the United States — but he luckily has no role here.

The Senate does have a role, however, and it is a key one. A majority must stop Todd Blanche from becoming attorney general.

As if the stakes weren’t clear enough, Trump himself is working overtime to do so, having scheduled a prime-time speech for Thursday night relating to “election integrity revelations,” as Steve Bannon put it. Republicans are “scared shitless” about Trump will say, as Politico reported, given Trump’s tendency to veer off script and into unhinged rants lying about the outcome of the 2020 election.

Beyond that fear, though, is the very real question about the script — and what election-related efforts Trump might be prepared to announce that would require the defense of the Justice Department in any litigation and would likely involve DOJ employees, including from the FBI.

Although they are limited in what they can do and although, as suggested, there will be challenges to anything that goes beyond the federal government’s authority, Blanche’s nomination — and loyalty to Trump — is particularly relevant and a factor that should not be glossed over when Trump does give his speech.

And that’s something Trump is willing to unveil while Blanche’s nomination is before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Just imagine what Trump might put to the compliant Blanche if confirmed.

Senate Republicans should stop Blanche. They likely won’t, though.

If they don’t, the voters will have to respond accordingly. Then, the next Congress will have to reassert its role in the constitutional order — holding Trump, Blanche, Bove, and others accountable for their actions.

The Trump admin is going after law enforcement

On Thursday, the Justice Department filed its opposition to D.C.’s motion to dismiss the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging the District’s bans on AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and silencers.

In D.C.’s motion to dismiss, the District made clear that DOJ’s scheme in this litigation is to misuse a federal law aimed at addressing police misconduct to advance their pro-gun aims:

Following the beating of Rodney King and reports of police misconduct across the country, Congress enacted Section 12601 to authorize the Attorney General to bring civil suits to eliminate systemic constitutional and statutory violations caused by law enforcement officers. In so doing, Congress did not fundamentally reorder the federal government’s relationship with states and localities. Instead, Congress crafted a powerful but targeted cause of action and remedial scheme with important limitations. The statute’s text, history, and context, plus basic canons of construction, make clear that the United States may only invoke Section 12601 to challenge a “pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers” that “deprives” individuals of protected rights. That reading respects states’ and localities’ historic police powers while accomplishing Congress’s stated goal of empowering the Attorney General to redress a particular category of harm—systemic police misconduct—which is not easily redressed by individual litigants. Since its enactment 30 years ago, this is precisely how the United States has interpreted Section 12601.

On Thursday, however, DOJ doubled down in its lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. Here’s the introduction:

INTRODUCTION This is a straightforward case. AR-15 style rifles are the most popular rifles in the Nation, 1 and Americans possess over six million firearm suppressors. 2 These weapons are in common use for lawful purposes by millions of law-abiding Americans and are therefore protected by the Second Amendment. See District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 624- 625, 627 (2008). Through the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) implementation of a series of interrelated ordinances (collectively, the “Arms Ban”), the District of Columbia (District) prohibits its citizens from possessing these constitutionally protected weapons. The Arms Ban is, therefore, unconstitutional, and MPD’s ongoing enforcement of the Arms Ban is law enforcement misconduct.

Law Dork is following this case, along with the cases the U.S. Supreme Court granted for review next term addressing similar bans in Cook County, Illinois, and in Connecticut, and will have more reporting as appropriate.

Closing my tabs

For those who don’t know what this is, it’s my effort to give a little thank you to paid subscribers. “Closing my tabs” is, literally, me looking through the stories and cases open — the tabs open — on my computer and sharing with you all some of those I was unable to cover during the week but that I nonetheless want to let you know that I have on my radar. Oftentimes, they are issues that will eventually find their way back into the newsletter as a case discussed moves forward or something new happens that provides me with a reason to cover the story more in depth.

This Thursday, these are the tabs I am closing:

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