{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/-booker-condemns-confirmation-of-todd-blanche-to-be-attorney-general", "Booker Condemns Confirmation of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General", "2026-08-08", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "NJ", "Cory A. Booker", "B001288", "www.booker.senate.gov", "booker", "https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights Subcommittee, issued the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General:\n\n\u201cThe Senate had one job: decide whether Todd Blanche is fit to lead the law enforcement agency that represents the interests of the American people and ensures the fair and impartial administration of justice. He fails by every measure, and my Republican colleagues know it. Yet they betrayed our values and chose political loyalty over facts so damning they should have led to only one conclusion: a no vote. Today, the Senate failed its constitutional duty.\n\n\u201cUnder his leadership, Todd Blanche has turned the Department of Justice into President Trump\u2019s personal law firm, using the power of the nation\u2019s highest prosecutorial office to dispense favors to his wealthy allies and insurrectionist supporters, to target for investigation and prosecution those who oppose him, and to protect child predators while retraumatizing survivors. There has been no bottom for the future Attorney General.\n\n\u201cThroughout his confirmation process, Todd Blanche demonstrated that he lacks the judgment, independence, and integrity required to lead the Department of Justice. He misled the Judiciary Committee about his immunity directive tied to the IRS settlement \u2014 a deal that shielded the President, his family, and his businesses from tax audits and investigations for other crimes. He defended the $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund he established to pay off Trump allies, including January 6th rioters. And when survivors of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s crimes came to him directly, asking for accountability and transparency, they left devastated.\n\n\u201cThe Attorney General exists to enforce the law equally, without fear or favor, to tell the powerful \u2018no\u2019 when the law demands it. Blanche\u2019s record demonstrates that he will be nothing more than a sword for the president against his enemies, and a shield for the president against accountability.\n\n\u201cThis outcome was brought to us by the most corrupt president in history in coordination with the most compromised cabinet ever. Blanche\u2019s confirmation only makes our work harder and more urgent. Democrats will continue our oversight of the Department of Justice, demand accountability, protect whistleblowers who tell the truth, and stand with career prosecutors and public servants whose commitment to the rule of law is undeniable. America\u2019s laws must be applied fairly and justly to everyone, including the President and those in his Administration who facilitate his corruption. \u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-09T05:47:57Z", "2026-08-09T05:49:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/-booker-condemns-confirmation-of-todd-blanche-to-be-attorney-general"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.497988821938634, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}