Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and a handful of women’s rights and reproductive freedom groups are sounding the alarm over recent reporting that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has vowed to use the Justice Department to roll back abortion access nationwide — a break with both President Trump’s own campaign promises that places him much further out on a limb on abortion than other Trump admin officials have been willing to go.
Politico and others reported earlier this week that Blanche recently told anti-abortion activists on a call hosted by the White House Faith Office that the DOJ was “working hand in hand” with the White House and other executive branch agencies to ensure that the “Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.”
“We don’t have complete victory yet, but we will have victory, and victory will be soon, and and and it will be permanent,” Blanche apparently told the activists, which included the Christian right group Intercessors for America. That group later posted audio of the call online.
Dobbs, of course, overturned the federal abortion protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade and turned the policy-setting on abortion over to the states, many of which outright banned the procedure. Many blue and swing states worked to expand access to reproductive care, including, in some cases, for those living in states where abortion is now banned.
It appears that Blanche previewed for the anti-abortion activists changes ahead that would place restrictions on the online prescription and mailing of the abortion pill, mifepristone, often prescribed alongside misoprostol to carry out an abortion. He specifically suggested targeting states with shield laws that have allowed doctors to prescribe abortion drugs to patients out of state.
“If states have said, ‘We are going to protect the unborn and we’re going to protect every life from the moment of conception,’ we’re putting practices and policies in place so that other states and other organizations can’t attack that,” he said. “They can’t do things like they’re doing with mailing in mail-order drugs.”
It’s a position that Trump himself has not even taken. During the 2024 campaign, Trump said that “the federal government should have nothing to do with this issue” and he hasn’t really veered from that line since, hiding behind court cases and the FDA’s ongoing “review” of reinstating potential restrictions on mifepristone to, in my opinion, avoid engaging seriously on the issue ahead of the midterms.
Blanche’s remarks to the anti-abortion activists came as he was struggling to get his confirmation moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee over the corrupt slush fund that he helped create for Trump’s political supporters and donors. When the audio of the call was dropped online, Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) had not yet committed to helping move Blanche’s nomination out of committee — which they ultimately did end up doing today after having reached a rather toothless “deal” between the parties.
But it also comes after Cornyn and Tillis both signed off on a letter dated July 15 that urged Blanche to use the DOJ’s might to “stop the abortion industry’s unlawful and unsafe mail-order abortion drug practice.” The two sent the letter to Blanche ahead of his confirmation hearing, so it’s possible these promises to anti-abortion activists were made as part of some sort of last-ditch attempt to appease Cornyn and Tillis.
Ahead of a coming Senate vote on Blanche’s nomination, several groups like Reproductive Freedom for All and the National Council of Jewish Women put out statements urging senators to oppose Blanche’s nomination over his remarks on the abortion pill. Murray called her colleagues who intend to vote to confirm Blanche as AG, saying “Senators who vote for Blanche are voting for an Attorney General who will attack abortion rights in EVERY state.”
Collins Will Vote ‘No’ on Blanche
Breaking just now …
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) put out a statement saying she will oppose Blanche’s nomination in the Senate, citing both his promises to the anti-abortion groups and that he “approved an order to shield the President, his sons, and the family business from IRS audits, protections unavailable to other American taxpayers.”
Max Miller Agrees — the Allegations Against Him Are ‘Troubling’
On the same day that he announced he was “going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family,” Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) went on CNN to discuss the allegations and his reelection race with Jake Tapper.
During the interview, Miller made it clear that he had no intentions of dropping out of the race — something he would have to do by Wednesday in order for a special election to be scheduled to replace him on the ballot — and he described the recent surfacing of troubling domestic abuse and drug use allegations as “nothing more than an individual being politically vindictive.” He was referring to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in those remarks, the father of his ex-wife Emily Moreno, who has accused the congressman of physically abusing their daughter and her.
This comes after Trump reportedly told Miller that “things aren’t looking good” and that he had doubts about his ability to be reelected. The Washington Post has a more detailed breakdown of the allegations against Miller here. Here’s a breakdown of the key moments from the interview:
- He claims that everything that his ex-wife is surfacing has already been investigated: “These matter have already been looked into,” he said. “Ms. Moreno has already gone to the police, the police are not investigating. Ask yourself, ‘why are they not investigating these things?’ … I’m not getting any special treatment. I have never done these things, these things have already been investigated. I have no police reports looked into me, we actually have evidence, unlike the other side. And so it’s an honor for me to have a platform like this to continue to fight … I’ve alredy been looked into and I’m happy to be looked into again.”
- He goes to therapy and says he has been going for 10 years: “I think it’s healthy to talk to someone.”
- He says it’s been “several years” since he last used illegal drugs and also admitted that he’s done testosterone therapy: “This is what they’re doing okay, this whole needles thing, this is testosterone replacement therapy,” he said. “People are painting this as something that it’s not. Secretary Hegseth, who is the Secretary of War, just three weeks ago allowed our entire military who are males to take testosterone replacement therapy, that’s what I was doing. I have not been using any illegal drugs, this is nonsense.”
- He’s staying in the race: “I’ve received more support than ever from our community, from the people where I live, and that is why we are going to stay in this race and be successful,” he said. “And look you’re right, the allegations they’re incredibly troubling, I agree they’re troubling, but if they were true, I’d be in prison.”
And there you have it.
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More to Read From TPM Today
A smattering of headlines from stories I think you should check out this evening:
Hunter Walker: Colorado Republicans Attack Jewish Dem Candidate With AI ‘Cartoon Devil Horns’ Graphic
Layla A. Jones: One Year Later, Some of Trump’s Trade Deals Are Real. Others, Not So Much.
David Kurtz: REVEALED: The Scope of ICE’s Surveillance of Its Online Critics
Josh Marshall: End of an Age Vibes as the DC GOP Hegemony Begins to Buckle
Yesterday’s Top Story
Trump Launches Into Extraordinary Rant About ‘Disgusting’ Blue Cities: ‘Their Trees Are All Gross’
Hall pass for Susan. Who didn’t see that coming?
Interesting night tonight. I wonder if we will get a definitive result in Spokane. Will the Independent Fireman win? Will the Democrat establishment candidate win? Baumgartner, the fool in office now, is the only Republican on the ballot so he will surely get first place, but by how much?
Also, of course I am filled with hope over. Michigan. It’s time we kicked AIPAC and Zionism out of the Democratic Party.
Which just gives Fetterman the hall pass to vote to confirm.
Now, who is following the primary results and where are we tracking them?
Susan Collins voted to confirm Blanche as Deputy AG. So she was for him before she was against him. Waiting for her to tell Maine voters she has poor judgment and should be replaced.
Yep. More kabuki.