Outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis threatened Thursday to block the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general if he doesn’t meet with women who were abused by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I expect that meeting to occur before I’m willing to vote out of this committee and I’m trying to get to ‘yes,’ but this is a very important part of getting to ‘yes,’” Tillis said during the second day of Blanche’s Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Politico reported.
Blanche, who’s been serving as acting attorney general since President Donald Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, wasn’t present, according to Politico.
On Wednesday, outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed Blanche to meet with 10 Epstein survivors who attended the first day of the hearing, but Blanche said he was “prohibited from meeting directly with them.”
“I have met with counsel for survivors, as have many people in the Department of Justice. But if they are represented by counsel, we will work with their counsel,” he said.
This is a developing story. Updates to follow.
