Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Whitehouse tells Blanche his Justice Department is ‘most troubled’ in history
Posted
July 15, 2026
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July 15, 2026
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6:28Now PlayingSen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., criticized Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, calling the Justice Department “the most troubled” in history.
Whitehouse referred to a federal judge's ruling on Monday that blasted President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his tax returns. The judge said the lawsuit was filed for an "improper purpose,” characterized it as self-dealing and recommended disciplinary action against the attorneys.
Whitehouse described the lawsuit and resulting settlement as collusion.
“The problem here, Mr. Blanche, is that it's not just that one occasion,” Whitehouse said during the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Between judges appointed by every president harshly criticizing the department's work in your tenure. Grand juries rejecting indictments. Judicial findings of outright misconduct. Capable lawyers fleeing the stinking ship.”
Whitehouse held up a poster board with words and phrases used by federal judges to describe the Justice Department. The words included “bad faith,” "disingenuous" and “unconscionable.”
Blanche pushed back against, saying Whitehouse cherry-picked the words.
“The Department of Justice works hard and the prosecutors work hard every day, and I appreciate the handpicked words that you have behind you right now, but that's not reflective of,” the department’s work, Blanche said.
“I will tell you that you are wrong,” Whitehouse said. “That in the history of the department, this kind of criticism by federal judges is unprecedented, and it comes from judges of every different political persuasion.”
Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former defense attorney, stepped into the role of acting attorney general after Pam Bondi was fired in early April.
This is the first of two days of confirmation hearings the committee has scheduled.
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