Grassley cancels Judiciary Committee meeting on acting AG Todd Blanche nomination as some Republicans raise objections

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley late Wednesday canceled a scheduled meeting that would have considered the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department, The Hill reported. The cancellation delays the committee’s next step in the confirmation process and keeps the nomination from moving on to a committee vote at that time.

The Hill reported that the chair’s decision came amid opposition from some Republican senators serving on the Judiciary Committee. The report named Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis among the lawmakers expressing concerns, and it described the nomination as looking increasingly precarious ahead of a key committee consideration. Grassley, in the reporting, said the committee’s work is aimed at supporting President Donald Trump’s nominees through the process.

Because the nomination’s fate turns on Senate procedure, the committee meeting cancellation has an immediate practical effect: it shifts timing for when senators can advance or reject the nomination within the Judiciary Committee. Under Senate practice, committee action is an important early step that can determine whether a nomination receives a broader hearing and consideration by the full Senate.

The dispute over Blanche’s nomination, as characterized in the reporting, centers on objections that some committee Republicans have raised rather than on a single final rejection or confirmation vote. Without an official committee calendar update or committee action order from the Senate to cite here, the reporting’s details about the timing and the internal dynamics are presented as reported by The Hill rather than as an official adjudication of the nomination’s prospects.

Blanche has served in an acting capacity leading the Justice Department as the nomination process has moved through the Senate. The committee’s next meeting and whether the Judiciary Committee schedules a new consideration date will determine the near-term timeline for senators to weigh the nomination’s advancement.