While the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, championed the progress the Department of Justice has made in recent months during his Senate confirmation hearing, such as the prosecution of drug dealers, illegal aliens, foreign terrorist organizations, and fraudsters, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee used their time to hammer him for being loyal to President Donald Trump.

Blanche’s Testimony

“I spent nine years prosecuting violent gangs and drug dealers. I rose through the ranks of the Department of Justice as a line prosecutor, then acting attorney general. But I did not take that path for a title, I took it to make a difference for American families and the towns they call home.”

“My family’s blessing should be available to all Americans. When a family can send their kids to school, walk their neighborhoods after dark, every promise of the American dream is within reach,” Blanche said.

“We are keeping America safe,” Blanche continued. “Murders are down roughly 20% nationwide, and we have the lowest murder rate since 1900. Violent crime arrests increased by nearly 114%. We’ve taken almost 5,00 child predators and human traffickers. The DOJ has filed nearly 100,000 indictments since January of 2025.”

During his testimony, Blanche continued to tout the historic achievements the department has accomplished since Trump assumed office for the second time in January of 2025.

“In just the last months, we’ve paid $90 million in claims to eligible surviving families of fallen public safety officers,” Blanche continued. “If you look at Washington and Memphis as examples, where we have worked with state and local partners, pulling thousands of criminals off the streets, homicides are down in D.C. up to 50%, and overall crimes in Memphis are down by over 40%. We’ve seized thousands of illegal guns and cleaned up parks and spaces families have avoided.”

“We are enforcing our borders, we are prosecuting the smugglers who profited from our open borders. We’re removing illegal aliens, we’re smashing the cartels, and the scourge of drugs in our communities,” he added.

“We designated the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations because that is what they are,” he said, referring to the numerous designated cartel members that have been apprehended and prosecuted at home and abroad, including Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro.

Blanche attributed these efforts to the historic decline in drug overdoses being witnessed in the United States.

Blanche also cited the largest fraud takedown, which began in Minneapolis in December 2025.

“Drug seizures are skyrocketing, and overdose deaths are finally falling. We are protecting taxpayers.”

“I’m proud of what we’ve done to help American families see safer streets, and none of this is a Republican or Democrat issue. We are keeping America safe, and we are just getting started.”

J6 and Tax Returns

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., used his time after Blanche’s testimony to question the acting attorney general on why he didn’t “twist the president’s arm” for pardoning Jan. 6 protesters, who, the senator stated, “attacked the Capitol.”

“The Constitution gives the president full power to pardon,” Blanche responded.

Durbin then moved to talk on the president’s tax returns, accusing Blanche of wanting to prosecute the individual who illegally leaked the president and his family’s tax returns.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, defended Blanche and said that the tax returns were unlawfully released in 2020. However, the senator noted that the lawsuit against the individual was not filed until Blanche took office, then questioned if Blanche filed the lawsuit as a favor to the president.

The acting attorney general responded by adding that the lawsuit against the individual was filed not because it was a favor to the president, but because the individual broke the law.

Later in the hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Conn., took aim at some of the president’s other appointees and asked if Blanche would hold them accountable.

“How long are you going to put up with this Kash Patel?” Whitehouse said. “Are you going to make sure he’s not drinking on the job?

“That’s an extraordinarily obnoxious question,” Blanche responded.

Conservative Defense

Prior to Blanche’s statements, Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., highlighted the former prosecutor’s accomplishments in building a career defending the United States against dangerous drug dealers and violent criminals, which, Moody noted, “caught the attention of the president.”

After the testimony, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., added that “no fair-minded person could conclude that you are not qualified, so the opposition of my Democrat colleagues has to be based on something else.”

He then asked Blanche if he is friends with the president, to which the acting attorney general responded, “Yes.”

“Will a president appoint his enemy?” Kennedy asked rhetorically.

The senator then asked Blanche whether he was “responsible for all the president’s decisions?” to highlight that Blanche is not responsible for the president’s executive decisions, which the Democrats touted during the hearing.

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America is the most generous nation on Earth. For centuries, we have opened our doors to millions seeking freedom and opportunity. Legal immigrants who came the right way—learning our language, embracing our culture, and working hard—built this country alongside native-born Americans. They showed gratitude and became part of the American family.

Tragically, recent open-border policies betrayed that tradition. We let in millions more, many illegally and unvetted, with little expectation of assimilation. Far too many have taken extreme advantage of our generosity and compassion, exploiting our welfare systems, public services, and openness while offering contempt in return.

I’ll tell you what—American taxpayers and patriots don’t view all-access immigration as a victimless policy. It creates real victims among our own citizens through severe downstream effects: suppressed wages for working families, overwhelmed schools and hospitals, rising crime in communities that never asked for this transformation, and cultural fragmentation that weakens our national identity and social trust.

If we obsess over carbon footprints, we should pay at least as much attention to immigration footprints: net fiscal impact, effects on native wages, crime and security costs, and success at assimilation rather than fragmentation.

What is the minimum we should expect from those who enter this country? Gratitude. Assimilation. Respect for our laws. Self-sufficiency. Loyalty to the United States.

These are not unreasonable demands. Every nation has the right—and the obligation—to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of its immigration policies. The relevant question is simple: Does this immigrant strengthen America or weaken it? Does this person contribute more than he consumes? Does he embrace our country or resent it? Does he add to our civic fabric or fray it?

Immigration is not an entitlement. It is a privilege extended by a sovereign nation to those who will strengthen it. America is not an all-you-can-eat buffet where anyone can arrive, take what they want, reject the house rules, and demand more. Nor should Americans subsidize entitled enemies who openly disdain the country that welcomed them.

When newcomers reject these obligations, our compassion is weaponized against us. A successful immigration system maximizes rewards, minimizes risks, and always puts American citizens first.

Recall the horror classic “When a Stranger Calls.” The terrified babysitter receives ominous phone calls from a killer she believes is outside the house. Police trace the call—only to discover the nightmare truth: “The call is coming from inside the house.”

That is America’s reality today. The threat is inside our house—in our cities, institutions, and positions of power.

This is why our leaders owe it to their constituents to heed the call from inside the house before it’s too late.

The proven policy solutions are clear and must be implemented aggressively: immigration restraint as well as onshoring and protectionism.

Immigration restraint means securing the border completely, ending catch-and-release, pursuing mass deportations of criminals and recent illegal entrants, requiring nationwide E-Verify, and shutting down sanctuary cities and welfare magnets. Above all, it means shifting to a strict merit-based system that prioritizes high-skilled contributors who assimilate and show genuine gratitude—those with small immigration footprints.

Onshoring and protectionism mean bringing factories and jobs back home through targeted tariffs, tax incentives, and “Buy American” rules. This raises wages for working Americans, revives communities, and builds the economic strength needed to sustain controlled immigration that actually benefits the nation.

These “America First” policies work. Controlled immigration paired with domestic economic nationalism raises wages, stabilizes communities, and makes gratitude sustainable. Previous generations have proved that this approach builds the world’s greatest middle class.

We have traced the call. The ingrates inside the house continue demanding open borders and permanent globalism. We demand better. Implement these solutions now: Restrain immigration to end exploitation and bring jobs home to restore prosperity and security for American workers and families.

No free lunches. No free rides. When generosity is met with exploitation instead of gratitude, all bets are off.

The house is ours. We are taking it back—stronger, safer, more prosperous, and unapologetically American.

We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday threatened to cut off all supplies of Middle Eastern oil to the rest of the world, in retaliation for the restored U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

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President Donald Trump speaks at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, on Wednesday, July 15.

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During Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing to be attorney general, Democrats focused heavily on his ties to President Donald Trump as his personal lawyer and on Jeffrey Epstein cases.

Epstein, who died in a New York prison cell in 2019 after an arrest for federal trafficking charges, had connections with high-profile people, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton. He also pleaded guilty in Florida state courts to solicitation of prostitution of a minor. The Justice Department is still investigating trafficking cases involving Epstein, and in December 2025 began publishing records on the deceased convict.

Several Democrat senators on Wednesday asked Blanche if he would meet with Epstein victims, some of whom attended the hearing.

“You’d agree with me, wouldn’t you, then, you can well meet with any of the survivors or victims, with their counsel present?” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked.

“I never said that I would not meet with them. I said, if they were represented, I could meet with them through counsel,” Blanche said. “Of course, I can meet with them. I’m the acting attorney general of the United States. I very strongly believe that for these victims to tell their stories and the evidence they have, they should meet, like any victim of a crime, with the FBI, or a law enforcement agent, and that we will do everything we can do to prosecute it if we can.”

Blanche, who was confirmed as deputy attorney general in 2025, became the acting attorney general in April after the president fired Pam Bondi, the first attorney general of Trump’s second term. The president in June officially nominated Blanche for the top Justice Department post.

Numerous Democrats on the committee also mentioned Blanche’s time as Trump’s defense lawyer, asserting that Blanche would prioritize loyalty to Trump above enforcing the law.

However, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., referenced former President John F. Kennedy, who appointed his brother, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., as attorney general. He said a president typically appoints allies to the post.

“Are you and President Trump friends?” the Louisiana senator asked.

Blanche replied: “I’m his lawyer—was his lawyer, then the deputy attorney general. So, I met him as his criminal defense attorney.”

Kennedy followed, “Are you enemies?” Blanche replied they were not, to which Kennedy asked, “Have you ever seen a president of the United States appoint an enemy attorney general?”

Blanche replied, “I have not.”

Blanche later noted his career as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York and said he represented Trump for two years while also representing numerous other clients.

One of the tense moments in the hearing occurred when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., took shots at FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Let me ask about the FBI. How long do you intend to put up with that Kash Patel character? Are you good with these airplane jaunts? Are you confident he’s not drinking on the job? Are you sure none of his travel is a pretext for vacation activities like snorkeling Olympics and visiting girlfriends? Are you sure he knows what he’s doing?” Whitehouse asked. “Do you vouch for him?”

Blanche responded, “That’s an extraordinarily obnoxious question, senator, and I have full faith in Director Patel and the work that he’s doing every day. Great. Got to own that.”

Blanche discussed the administration’s focus on election integrity in response to a question by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Klobuchar asked about the Justice Department lawsuits seeking voter registration data from more than two dozen states.

“The DOJ has carried out a campaign to push states to turn over voters’ sensitive and private data to the administration,” Klobuchar said. “Thirty states, including Republican-led states like Georgia and West Virginia, have refused.” She added that 15 federal courts ruled against the Justice Department in favor of states.

“Could you discuss how cutting off anti-terrorism funding to states that refuse something that 15 federal courts have found to be illegal enhances our national security?” Klobuchar asked.

Blanche defended the Justice Department’s effort but said he can’t speak to individual cases in pending litigation.

“Election integrity is extraordinarily important to this administration,” Blanche said. “It’s important to this body, and so, to the extent that the work that we’re doing is to make sure that we have fair and honest elections, that the only people voting are the people who are eligible to vote, and that they’re only voting once, that’s important.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who recently lost his primary and is considered a key vote for Blanche’s confirmation, seemed skeptical about whether a controversial fund to pay victims of government weaponization is dead. A settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service created the fund in May, which would pay out $1.776 billion to victims of government weaponization. The DOJ eventually dropped the fund after a court blocked it, and earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida blocked the settlement.

Cornyn referred to the wording of the settlement agreement that said it can only be modified, “upon the written agreement of the parties.”

“Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?” Cornyn followed.

“It’s just, it never started,” Blanche said of the weaponization fund.

Cornyn pressed, “Is the settlement agreement enforceable as a contract by the parties?”

Blanche said, “I suppose if President Trump’s counsel sought to enforce it, that they potentially could. … They could potentially say that, I suppose, that we breached by not moving forward. They haven’t done that, and I’m not aware that they’re planning on doing that.”