Sen. Lisa Murkowski has officially done what plenty of Republicans suspected she might do: she is opposing Todd Blanche for attorney general.
The Alaska Republican had been quiet about Blanche’s nomination for weeks, refusing to say exactly where she stood. That left plenty of room for speculation. Now there is no mystery left.
Murkowski released a statement Thursday saying that while she found Blanche “decent and capable,” she ultimately could not support putting him in charge of the Department of Justice.
So, apparently, nice meetings and a trip to Alaska only get you so far.
“I have had numerous constructive meetings with Mr. Blanche and he comes across as decent and capable,” Murkowski said. “I appreciate the trip he made to learn more about Alaska, including our rural areas, and as Acting Attorney General he has made several noteworthy decisions that will benefit our state and the nation.”
Then came the sentence that mattered.
“Ultimately, however, I will oppose his nomination.”
And there went another Republican vote.
Murkowski explained that her concerns center on what she sees as the growing politicization of the Justice Department. She argued that the problem did not begin under President Donald Trump’s administration, but claimed it has become worse.
She pointed to several issues, including the handling of the Epstein files, immunity protections involving Trump and members of his family, statements made to anti-abortion groups, and what she described as the alleged targeting of former administration officials and sitting U.S. senators.
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski said.
That is not exactly the kind of endorsement Republicans were hoping to hear from one of their own senators.
Murkowski also raised concerns about a roughly $2 billion Justice Department fund that she described as a “slush fund.” She claimed it likely would have benefited January 6 protesters and argued that the only reason the money is currently off the table is because Blanche’s nomination gives the Senate leverage.
Her message was simple: once the vote is over, that leverage disappears.
“I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed,” Murkowski said of checking the administration, “but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
That puts Blanche in an increasingly uncomfortable spot.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has already said she plans to vote against the nomination. Now Murkowski is joining her.
That means attention is shifting quickly toward Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who remains undecided.
The math here is not complicated, and Blanche’s supporters do not need a calculator the size of a campaign headquarters to figure it out.
Republicans can only afford two defections. If Cassidy votes no, the nomination could be finished.
There had been some hope that Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona might miss the final vote because of a family health emergency involving his wife, who underwent an appendectomy. Gallego, however, has said he plans to be present for the confirmation vote.
So much for that extra cushion.
Blanche’s nomination had already run into trouble before reaching this stage.
During the committee process, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas reportedly had concerns about a $1.8 billion Justice Department anti-weapons fund.
Blanche and the two senators negotiated for several days before Tillis and Cornyn finally agreed to support moving the nomination forward.
That was supposed to be the hard part.
Now the real vote is approaching, and the Republican margin is getting thinner.
Murkowski has long had an independent streak within the GOP and has broken with Republican leadership on major votes before. Her decision here follows that same familiar pattern: complimentary introduction, lengthy list of concerns, and then a firm no.
For Blanche, the timing could hardly be more inconvenient.
He now has two Republican senators publicly opposed, another sitting on the fence, and Democrats showing no obvious sign of riding to the rescue.
The nomination is still alive.
But at this point, every Republican vote matters, every undecided senator matters, and every phone call from the White House probably matters too.
And when a confirmation fight reaches the stage where everyone is staring at one senator from Louisiana, nobody involved is exactly relaxed.