Sen. John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has crossed party lines to confirm several Trump nominees, says he will not vote for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and he is not the only senator withholding support.
Fetterman made the announcement during an Aug. 5 appearance on "The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart," where the two discussed executive overreach and the Senate filibuster. Stewart raised the subject of nominees he characterized as "unqualified" reaching office despite the filibuster. Fetterman responded by drawing a distinction between nominees he has backed and those he has not.
USA TODAY reported that Fetterman put it plainly on air:
"Many of them I didn't vote for, and if you're going to bring up Blanche, I'm not gonna vote for him as well, too."
He offered little detail beyond a general assessment of Blanche's fitness for the role. "There's some that I would vote for, and then there's many that I haven't because it's just I don't believe that's the kind of right person for, for the job," Fetterman said.
Fetterman's refusal stands out because of his record. In February 2025, he was the only Democrat in the Senate to vote to confirm Pam Bondi as U.S. Attorney General. He voted to confirm Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, joining six other Democrats in that effort. And in March 2026, he voted to confirm former Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Noem's replacement at DHS.
That Mullin vote came with a formal statement from Fetterman's office that emphasized pragmatism over partisanship:
"I truly approached the confirmation of my colleague and friend, Senator Mullin, with an open-mind. We need a leader at DHS. We must reopen DHS. My AYE is rooted in a strong committed, constructive working relationship with Senator Mullin for our nation's security."
So Fetterman has shown he is willing to cross the aisle when he believes a nominee can do the job. He voted to confirm the previous attorney general. He voted for two DHS secretaries. But on Blanche, he offered no comparable rationale, just a flat refusal and a vague assessment that Blanche is not "the right person."
That lack of specificity is worth noting. Fetterman did not cite a particular policy disagreement, a disqualifying action, or a legal concern. He gave a television audience a conclusion without the reasoning behind it. Voters in Pennsylvania, and taxpayers everywhere who care about the functioning of the Justice Department, deserve more than a shrug from their senator.
Fetterman is not the only obstacle in Blanche's path. Fox News reported that Republican Sen. Susan Collins has also announced her opposition, citing what she described as an erosion of the Department of Justice's independence under Blanche's tenure as acting attorney general.
"Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the department's independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation," Collins said. With both Collins and Fetterman opposed, Blanche would likely receive at least two fewer votes than Bondi's 54-46 confirmation tally.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche's nomination on a strict party-line vote of 12-10, no Democrat crossed over, and no Republican broke ranks. That clean split signals a floor vote that could come down to a handful of undecided senators.
Two Republican senators remain uncommitted. The Washington Examiner reported that Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn have not committed to supporting Blanche. Tillis conditioned his vote on Blanche's stance regarding January 6th.
"The key for Todd or anybody going through the Judiciary Committee is being pretty tight on Jan. 6," Tillis said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a sharper critique than Fetterman did. "Trump picked Blanche because he's loyal to the president alone, not the Constitution, not the rule of law, and certainly not to the American people," Schumer said. That framing, loyalty to the president as a disqualifier, has become the standard Democratic argument against Blanche.
Fetterman, for his part, also pointed to the controversial $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund as a key reason for his opposition, the Washington Examiner reported. That fund has drawn scrutiny from both parties, though Fetterman did not elaborate on his specific objections during the Stewart interview.
Meanwhile, Collins's opposition centers on a different concern, DOJ independence, and her involvement in a separate but related matter underscores how tangled confirmation politics have become. AP News reported that Collins recently met with Acting ICE Director David Venturella following a deadly ICE shooting in Biddeford, Maine, pressing for updates on body-worn camera deployment. ICE confirmed its policy requires at least one officer to wear a body camera during enforcement interactions, with full nationwide rollout expected by the end of August.
Fetterman's willingness to confirm some Trump nominees while rejecting others has made him one of the more unpredictable Democratic senators. But his record also includes reversals that complicate the picture.
After voting to confirm Kristi Noem as DHS secretary, Fetterman later called on President Trump to fire her. The article does not specify what prompted the reversal, but the sequence, vote yes, then demand removal, raises fair questions about the consistency of Fetterman's judgment on nominees.
He has also flipped his position on the filibuster. Fetterman now favors ending the 60-vote threshold that blocks legislation in the Senate, a position he did not hold earlier in his term. That shift came in late July 2026, just days before his Blanche announcement.
Taken together, the pattern suggests a senator who is willing to break with his party, but whose reasoning can shift quickly and without much public explanation. Confirming Bondi as attorney general and then refusing to confirm her successor on the grounds that he is not "the right person" is a position that demands more than a one-liner on a late-night show.
The Justice Department is not a place that benefits from prolonged uncertainty. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general, and the confirmation process is the constitutional mechanism for giving a permanent leader Senate approval and accountability. When senators withhold their votes, they owe the public a clear explanation, especially when they have voted to confirm the previous occupant of the same office.
Fetterman's opposition may prove irrelevant if enough Republicans hold the line. But with Collins opposed, Tillis and Cornyn uncommitted, and the Judiciary Committee vote falling on strict party lines, the margin is thin. Every vote matters, and every senator who casts one, or withholds one, should be able to say exactly why.
Accountability runs both ways. If Blanche is unfit, say so with specifics. If the objection is political, own it. A senator who crossed the aisle for Bondi, Noem, and Mullin does not get to wave off the next nominee with a shrug and expect no one to notice the gap.
