Republican Senator Susan Collins announced Tuesday she will vote against Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general, making the nomination's fate dependent on two undecided Republican senators.


With Mitch McConnell still absent from the Senate, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes. Collins is now one of them. "While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political," she said. "Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department's independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation."


Collins specifically pointed to Blanche's role in the IRS settlement with Trump and a reported private promise to an anti-abortion organization that he would seek to ban the mailing of abortion medication nationwide.


Blanche cleared a significant hurdle earlier Tuesday when Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis dropped their opposition after reaching a written agreement with Blanche to terminate Trump's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and narrow the IRS settlement's audit protections. Senator John Curtis of Utah also confirmed his support.


That leaves Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as the two remaining unknowns. One of their votes is now essential. Collins, the only Republican senator running for reelection in a state Trump lost, has broken with the president several times this term, voting against his One Big Beautiful Bill, Pete Hegseth's nomination, and a spending rescissions package.

Cassidy and Murkowski now decide if Trump's former personal lawyer becomes America's top law enforcement officer