Outgoing Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Thursday he will hold his confirmation vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hostage until Blanche sits down with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse.
The move carries real weight. A single Republican defection on the Senate Judiciary Committee would be enough to tank Blanche's nomination before it reaches a full Senate vote.
During Thursday's committee hearing, Tillis explained his position plainly. He said Blanche had already signaled willingness to meet with the survivors when asked the day before, and now Tillis expects that meeting to actually happen before he'll vote the nomination out of committee.
"I have not made a final decision, but Mr. Blanche said very quickly yesterday that he would meet with the Epstein victims today if it could be arranged," Tillis said. "It seemed to me that Mr. Blanche was willing to say that he would meet with them, and counsel. I understand the restriction that counsel has to be present. I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee."
Tillis framed his demand as reasonable given Blanche's own stated openness to the meeting. "I'm trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes," he said. "There should not be any reason why, based on what Mr. Blanche said yesterday, if he said that he would do it today, then he can certainly do it over the next two weeks."
The North Carolina senator, who is on his way out of Congress, appears to be signaling he's not locked into either position yet. He left the door open for a yes vote, but only if Blanche follows through on his commitment. The message to the acting AG is clear: commit to the meeting and make it happen.
Author James Rodriguez: "Tillis is banking on Blanche meaning what he said, and if he doesn't show up to that meeting, this confirmation gets a whole lot messier."
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