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Floor Speech
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Mr. HICKENLOOPER. Mr. President, the Senate is currently considering the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is one of the most important positions in the U.S. Government.
Not only does the Attorney General serve as a trusted member of the President's Cabinet, but he also leads the Department of Justice, the Agency responsible for enforcing the laws of the land and, hopefully-- traditionally--enforcing them in a nonpartisan way.
That is a difficult job in any administration, but under this President, who values personal loyalty above pretty much all else, it may well be impossible.
During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Blanche was asked about his relationship with the President. He responded, ``I'm his lawyer,'' before quickly correcting himself to say that he previously ``was'' his lawyer. Now, this wasn't a slip; this was a tell.
Mr. Blanche will not be an impartial check on the President.
And here is another tell: For months, Mr. Blanche has insisted the Department of Justice slush fund is dead. Yet, as recently as this weekend, President Trump was saying the exact opposite. He defended the fund.
So when Mr. Blanche says the slush fund is dead, the slush fund isn't moving forward, don't believe him, not for 1 second. His word is worth about as much as the Trump meme coin.
During reconciliation, we introduced an amendment to permanently-- permanently--end the DOJ slush fund. Despite bipartisan support, it ultimately was voted down. That means taxpayers could still be on the hook for paying bounties, rewards to people who attacked our democracy, attacked this Capitol.
At a time when working families are struggling with rising costs, the last people the Federal Government should seek to reward, to subsidize are those who assault our elections, people like convicted election criminal Tina Peters, who tried to undermine Colorado's free and fair elections; people like the January 6 rioters--my first full day of work in this position--the rioters who stormed this very Chamber in an attempt to tear apart our democracy.
The DOJ slush fund isn't dead; it is dormant. Until Congress permanently closes this avenue through legislation, we shouldn't rely on assurances alone. If there is even a chance that this fund could be revived, this confirmation, this moment, is when this Chamber and its Members have the greatest leverage to act. We should not surrender that leverage for promises that can be undone at the President's whim.
A DOJ letter promising to end the slush fund isn't law, it isn't binding, and it is certainly not enough.
Now, to be clear, we don't believe Mr. Blanche will break all of his promises. When he says behind closed doors that he wants the Dobbs v. Jackson decision to become, in his words, ``permanent in every state,'' we should believe him.
When someone reveals themselves to you, it is generally a good idea to believe them.
Whether it is abortion access or access to the ballot box, we should have little confidence that this new Attorney General will not target Colorado or other blue States because that is exactly what his boss wants.
We cannot allow a fox to guard the henhouse. We need an Attorney General who is loyal to the Constitution, not to President Trump. Mr. Blanche does not seem to be that person. Mr. Blanche is not that person.
I strongly, strongly oppose his confirmation and urge all of my colleagues to do the same.
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