Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on May 19, 2026, to defend President Trump’s $41.2 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the Department of Justice — a 13 percent increase over FY 2026 — but the hearing was quickly consumed by fierce debate over the administration’s newly announced $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” compensation fund, created the day before through the settlement of President Trump’s personal lawsuit against the IRS. Democratic senators accused Blanche of running a presidential slush fund with no judicial oversight and no rules barring January 6th rioters from collecting taxpayer dollars. Republicans pressed concerns about deep cuts to community grant programs — including a 25 percent reduction to Violence Against Women Act funding — while simultaneously praising the department’s violent crime statistics. The hearing also surfaced pointed exchanges over the Epstein survivors’ access to the Justice Department, the removal of a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report from government websites, the gutting of Inspector General budgets, the FBI’s disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force, the Bureau of Prisons’ staffing crisis, and the allegation that the Biden DOJ secretly subpoenaed Senator Hagerty’s phone records. Assistance from Claude AI.
Participants
| Name | Title / Role |
|---|---|
| Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) | Subcommittee Chair; Chair, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee |
| Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) | Ranking Member |
| Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) | Chair, Full Appropriations Committee |
| Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) | Member |
| Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) | Member |
| Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) | Member |
| Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) | Member |
| Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) | Member |
| Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) | Member |
| Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | Member |
| Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) | Member |
| Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) | Member |
| Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) | Member |
| Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) | Member |
| Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) | Member |
| Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) | Member |
| Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) | Member |
| Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) | Ex Officio, Full Committee Vice Chair |
| Todd Blanche | Acting Attorney General of the United States (Witness) |
Who is Todd Blanche? Blanche previously served as President Trump’s personal defense attorney in his federal criminal cases before being appointed Acting Attorney General at the start of the second Trump administration. Several Democratic senators referenced this background repeatedly throughout the hearing, arguing it creates an inherent conflict of interest.
Opening Statements
Chairman Moran: Budget Concerns on Both Sides
Sen. Jerry Moran opened by acknowledging the department’s resource pressures while flagging concerns about cuts to community programs. He noted the DOJ is requesting a $4.7 billion increase — about 12 to 13 percent above FY 2026 enacted levels — and said much of this reflects years of flat funding that has left agencies strained.
Moran expressed particular worry about proposed cuts to three grant-making offices — the offices that fund state and local law enforcement, juvenile delinquency prevention, victim services, and police safety. He specifically called out cuts to youth mentoring programs, veteran treatment courts (a priority of his as Veterans Affairs Committee Chair), and the Violence Against Women program, noting the impact on organizations like the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
“As this committee evaluates the department’s request, we also have a responsibility to examine whether reductions to many of these community-based programs could ultimately place additional strains on law enforcement and local communities in the longer term.”
Ranking Member Van Hollen: A Blistering Indictment
Sen. Chris Van Hollen opened with an extended, pointed indictment of Blanche’s tenure. He did not frame his remarks as questions but as a prosecutorial summary of what he called a pattern of politicization.
Key accusations Van Hollen leveled:
- Banners of Trump’s face hang from both sides of the main Justice Department building, which Van Hollen said signals to every employee what the department exists to do.
- Two days before the hearing, Blanche had publicly suggested there was “a ton of evidence that the 2020 election was rigged against Trump” — a claim Van Hollen called disqualifying.
- The $1.8 billion fund announced the previous day was, in Van Hollen’s words, “pure theft of public funds” — rewarding people who committed crimes and attacked the Capitol.
- Blanche had fired more than a dozen lawyers who represented the Justice Department in January 6th cases.
- DOJ pursued “blatant political prosecutions” of James Comey and others, including what Van Hollen called a “ludicrous, vindictive prosecution in the seashell case.”
- Journalists were charged criminally for doing their jobs in Minneapolis.
- DOJ refused to hold accountable DHS agents who shot and killed Renee Good, while administration officials called Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists.
- Staff who told the truth to courts were fired. Immigration judges who ruled against the administration were fired.
- DOJ lost over 8,500 staff last year and nearly one-quarter of its lawyers — and is now offering $25,000 signing bonuses and hiring prosecutors with no prior legal experience who have pledged personal support for the president.
- Blanche refused to share with Congress the Office of Legal Counsel’s legal justification for military action against Iran.
- On the Epstein case: Van Hollen noted Blanche spent two days interviewing convicted sex-trafficking associate Ghislaine Maxwell, after which she was moved to a lower-security prison camp with special perks. He called Blanche’s management of the Epstein files — including the exposure of survivor names and nude photos — a dereliction of duty.
Van Hollen concluded: “Mr. Blanche, the record is crystal clear — you are still acting as the President’s personal lawyer, not as acting Attorney General.”
Acting AG Blanche: A Defense of Historic Results
Todd Blanche presented his opening statement as a recitation of law enforcement achievements and a defense of the FY 2027 request. His top-line figures:
- $41.2 billion total request, 13 percent above FY 2026.
- 20 percent decrease in the national murder rate in 2025.
- 44,000 violent offenders arrested — double the prior year.
- 2,200 kilograms of fentanyl seized.
- 8 of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives captured.
- 6,300 missing children located; 2,000+ child predators arrested.
- The U.S. Marshals Service, with about 3,800 deputies, arrested 73,000 fugitives, conducted 308,000 prisoner movements, and housed 55,000 detainees.
- ATF arrested 8,700 violent offenders and seized nearly 44,000 firearms, including 5,100 intercepted before reaching Mexico. It also seized 2.7 million rounds of ammunition, 28,000 illegal explosives, and processed 856,000 gun traces.
- The DEA conducted over 600 arrests in a single August surge, seized multi-ton quantities of narcotics, and recovered more than $11 million in drug proceeds.
Blanche also highlighted:
– The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has completed over 1 million immigration cases and reduced the backlog by more than 447,000 cases since January 2025.
– Nearly $4 billion in the budget supports immigration enforcement.
– A new National Fraud Enforcement Division is being stood up with $30 million to hire 100 attorneys focused on large-scale criminal fraud.
– The Bureau of Prisons, funded at $8.1 billion — almost $300 million below FY 2025 — “risks insolvency” without additional support. The president’s request of $10.3 billion for BOP is described as essential.
The $1.8 Billion “Anti-Weaponization” Fund: The Hearing’s Central Controversy
This topic consumed more of the hearing than any other. The day before the hearing, the DOJ announced the creation of a $1.8 billion compensation fund for individuals claiming to have been “weaponized against” by the federal government — funded through the Judgment Fund, a permanent federal appropriation normally used to pay court-ordered claims and settlements.
The fund was created as part of a settlement of President Trump’s personal $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.
What is the Judgment Fund? It’s essentially the federal government’s checking account for legal settlements. By law, when the government loses a case or reaches a settlement, the payment comes from this standing fund rather than from agency budgets. It does not require a separate congressional appropriation. Critics argue this makes it easy to move large sums of money without typical congressional scrutiny.
Sen. Collins (R-ME): Questioning Legal Precedent
Sen. Collins — a Republican and the Chair of the Full Appropriations Committee — led the most probing initial questioning. She noted the Judgment Fund has traditionally paid specific settled claims, not future, unvetted ones.
Has this ever been done before? Blanche said yes, comparing the fund to the Keepseagle v. Vilsack settlement under the Obama administration, which created a compensation structure for Native American farmers claiming discriminatory treatment by the Agriculture Department. He noted that case involved a fund of over a billion dollars (in today’s dollars) administered by a single commissioner.
How are commissioners appointed? Collins initially asked whether the president appoints them. Blanche clarified that four of five commissioners are appointed by the Attorney General, and one is appointed by the AG “in consultation with leadership of this body” (Congress). He then corrected himself further to say he appoints all five.
Will claims be publicly reported? Blanche said privacy laws may limit some disclosure, but committed to quarterly public reports and described a FOIA process for accountability.
Violence Against Women Act cuts: Collins, a lead sponsor of VAWA’s 2022 reauthorization, demanded an explanation for the 25 percent funding reduction. Blanche defended the $539 million request as still “extraordinarily important” but acknowledged it is less than the prior year. Collins called a 25 percent cut “a huge cut” and urged the subcommittee to restore it.
Sen. Van Hollen (D-MD): Sharp Cross-Examination
Van Hollen’s follow-up on the fund was structured like a courtroom cross-examination:
Are January 6th rioters who assaulted Capitol Police eligible? Blanche: “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they were victim of weaponization.”
Will you make a rule barring violent offenders from collecting? Blanche said he “expects” commissioners will set rules, but he is not one of the commissioners — though he is appointing all five.
No federal judge has approved this fund, correct? Blanche: “No federal judge has approved it.” Van Hollen pressed that this is a key distinction from the Keepseagle case Blanche cited, where a judge did ultimately sign off. Blanche disputed the significance of this difference, arguing the judge played no role in deciding how money was distributed.
Van Hollen raised a particularly alarming case: an individual pardoned by President Trump for January 6th who subsequently molested two children and had told one of his victims that he expected to receive money from the fund — and would put the child in his will. Van Hollen presented a sworn affidavit from the Hernando County, Florida Sheriff’s Office documenting the claim. When Blanche initially said Van Hollen was “obviously lying,” Van Hollen asked him to stop and read the affidavit aloud into the record.
Van Hollen asked Blanche to commit that the Justice Department would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell. Blanche said: “Yes, I can commit to that. Of course.”
Van Hollen closed his first round: “Do you know that it is a criminal offense to lie to Congress?” Blanche: “I am very well aware of that.”
Sen. Coons (D-DE): Structural and Conflict-of-Interest Questions
Sen. Coons focused on the fund’s structure and whether it represents an unprecedented conflict of interest.
He noted that the Keepseagle case Blanche cited did not involve a sitting president suing his own government, settling that suit, and then directing his chosen attorney general to establish a compensation fund. Blanche insisted the president did not direct him to do anything.
Coons asked whether the settlement agreement’s language — which says quarterly reports will be confidential — conflicts with Blanche’s promise of transparency. Blanche acknowledged privacy laws may limit full disclosure but committed to transparency “beyond applicable privacy laws.”
He pressed Blanche on three specific commitments:
– Will none of Trump’s family receive payouts? Blanche: Yes, they will not.
– Will none of Trump’s campaign donors receive payouts? Blanche: “I am not committing to anything beyond the settlement agreement itself. When you say campaign donors, they are not excluded from seeking compensation.”
– Will no one convicted of assaulting police officers receive a payout? Blanche: declined to make that specific commitment, saying it would be up to commissioners.
Sen. Merkley (D-OR): Pressing for a Specific Commitment
Sen. Merkley repeatedly asked Blanche to commit to a specific commissioner guideline — that those convicted of violent acts against police officers would not be eligible.
Blanche declined to make the specific commitment, saying it was not “the attorney general’s job to encourage commissioners.” Merkley called the fund incomparable to the Keepseagle case and cited federal Judge Kathleen Williams, who had presided over Trump’s IRS lawsuit and had admonished the Justice Department for transparency failures, having previously assigned a group of attorneys to analyze the conflict of interest inherent in a sitting president suing “entities whose decisions are subject to his direction.”
Sen. Murray (D-WA): “This Is Corruption That Has Never Been More Blatant”
Sen. Murray called the fund straightforward corruption: “You write the check, Trump and his cronies cash it, American taxpayers, who are already being whacked with high prices, are going to foot the bill.”
She pressed Blanche on the Epstein survivors, noting that after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ released survivors’ names, sensitive personal information, and nude photos while redacting the names of alleged perpetrators. She asked Blanche directly to apologize to the survivors.
Blanche said the act required the department to review over 6 million pieces of paper in a short time, that errors affected about .001 percent of documents, and that DOJ immediately pulled problematic documents when notified. He did not say the words “I apologize” in a clean sentence, which Murray specifically requested, leading to a tense extended exchange.
Murray committed to personally connecting Blanche with Epstein survivors and obtained his agreement to meet with them.
Sen. Reed (D-RI): The IRS Breach and a Key Resignation
Sen. Reed constructed a methodical examination of the fund’s origins:
- 405,427 taxpayer returns were leaked in the 2020 IRS contractor breach. One was Donald Trump’s.
- Trump was president when the breach occurred — meaning it happened under his own administration’s IRS.
- None of the other 400,000+ affected taxpayers have received monetary reimbursement.
- Blanche confirmed President Trump and his family will receive no direct payout from the fund.
- Reed pressed that when Trump first announced the IRS lawsuit on January 30th, he said he’d give the proceeds to charity — specifically naming the American Cancer Society. The settlement does not include any charitable distribution. Blanche acknowledged the discrepancy.
Reed asked: “Is it a coincidence that the general counsel of the Department of Treasury resigned yesterday?” — the same day the Treasury was required to certify payment of the settlement. Blanche said he did not know. Reed called the entire arrangement “an obvious abuse of power” and said Blanche had “very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America.”
Sen. Moran’s Closing Questions on the Fund
Moran asked Blanche to characterize what kind of people he envisions serving on the five-person commission. Blanche said they will be “experienced people” with the ability to evaluate claims, and the administration has about 30 days to name them. The standard for eligibility, Blanche explained, is broadly: “weaponization.” It is not limited to Republicans, Democrats, or January 6th defendants.
Moran confirmed the fund’s decisions would require a majority vote of three of the five commissioners. He also noted that the Appropriations Committee has no jurisdiction over the fund because it draws from mandatory spending — and asked whether Blanche had discussed it with the Judiciary Committee. Blanche said he had not.
Bureau of Prisons: A Crisis of Staffing and Funding
Sen. Shaheen (D-NH) opened this topic by noting that at FCI Berlin in New Hampshire, staffing has dropped to 58 percent of authorized levels, at the same time correctional officers are being asked to absorb new detainee populations.
Blanche acknowledged the crisis is “twofold”: officers are paid less than they could earn at county jails, and understaffing leads to mandatory overtime — which worsens retention further. He said the administration has worked with BOP Director Marshall on retention bonuses and is seeking $450 million specifically to address officer vacancies and begin raising compensation.
Chairman Moran said the vacancy rate for corrections officers remains at 20 percent nationally. The budget request of $10.3 billion for BOP — a 27 percent increase over FY 2026 — is described by both Blanche and Moran as essential, and Sen. Capito (R-WV) expressed strong support for it.
Blanche said the department received a “broken agency” when it took over, with low morale, insufficient funding, and facilities requiring serious repairs. Among the specific investments: $450 million to attack the vacancy rate and significant capital for structural facility repairs.
Immigration Courts (EOIR): A Record Year, But 4 Million Cases Still Pending
Sen. Britt (R-AL) focused on the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees the nation’s immigration courts. She noted that under the current administration, FY 2025 saw the highest case completion numbers in EOIR’s history and the first actual reduction in the case backlog.
Blanche said the budget includes $37 million for IT modernization of immigration court systems — “something that should have happened years and years ago.” He also noted that the “Big, Beautiful Bill” granted authority to hire additional immigration judges, and that the next day would see the largest immigration judge graduation ceremony in many years, if not history.
However, he acknowledged the scope of the backlog: approximately 4 million immigration cases remain pending. Even cutting a million cases per year, he said, means a three-to-four year runway to clear it. EOIR’s total budget request is $899 million.
Why does this matter? The immigration court system has been in crisis for more than a decade. Unlike regular courts, immigration judges work within the executive branch (not the judicial branch), which gives the administration direct control over who serves as a judge and what policies they follow. The backlog means millions of people — including asylum seekers, long-term residents facing deportation, and others — wait years for a court date.
Grant Cuts: Community Programs Under the Knife
This was a consistent point of concern across both parties — one of the few areas of bipartisan alarm in the hearing.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): 25 Percent Cut
Senators Collins, Murkowski, and Shaheen — all Republicans or Independents — all expressed strong opposition to the 25 percent reduction in VAWA funding. Blanche defended the $539 million request as still substantial and prioritized, but acknowledged the reduced level. He cited budget constraints and said choices had to be made.
Shaheen added a more immediate concern: her staff has heard from New Hampshire domestic violence organizations that the department is still withholding FY 2025 grant funds, with some grants canceled as early as 2025 — forcing organizations to lay off staff. Blanche committed that those funds would be sent out, noting one NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) remains pending from FY 2025 and should go out “any day now.”
COPS Office: $500 Million Cut
Sen. Merkley raised the $500 million reduction in COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) grants, which help local departments hire staff, buy equipment, and fund investigations. Blanche agreed that local law enforcement “needs all the money we can get” and said he would support the committee advocating for more funding.
Sen. Fischer (R-NE) noted her 2024 Recruit and Retain Act authorized COPS grants for recruitment and retention — and a mandated study confirmed that more officers means lower crime rates. She expressed worry that cutting COPS funding will worsen the staffing crisis in smaller departments. Blanche promised continued engagement with state and local agencies.
Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) called out the pattern most sharply: “I see you slashing programs left and right — from drugs to gun trafficking, to community policing, to COPS program, slashing so many programs that I know work.”
Grant Consolidation: OJP, COPS, OVW Into a New Bureau
The budget proposes merging the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the COPS Office, and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) into a new entity called the Bureau of Justice Grants.
Blanche’s stated rationale: reducing inefficiencies across three separate grant-making bureaucracies. He was careful to say the offices would maintain their “independence and brand” — just share administrative infrastructure.
Sen. Murkowski pressed whether the Office of Tribal Justice would be subsumed. Blanche said no — only the grant-making components are being consolidated.
Murkowski also raised a statutory concern: the VAWA reauthorization that she helped pass includes a provision stating that OVW may not be subsumed by another DOJ grant-making component. Blanche acknowledged awareness of this constraint and committed to honoring it.
Children’s Advocacy Centers (Victims of Child Abuse Act Programs)
Sen. Coons raised concerns about proposed cuts to programs funded under the Victims of Child Abuse Act — specifically the Children’s Advocacy Centers model, which brings together law enforcement, medical professionals, and mental health experts to investigate child abuse in a child-centered way that minimizes re-traumatization. The number of victims served by these centers has increased fourfold over 25 years. Blanche said the budget includes $41 million for these programs and agreed they are “extraordinarily important.”
Youth Mentoring, Veteran Treatment Courts
Chairman Moran flagged cuts to youth mentoring programs and concern about the future of veteran treatment courts, a specialty court model that diverts veterans with service-connected issues away from incarceration toward treatment and services.
Medicaid Fraud: The Kennedy Exchange
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) used his time not to address DOJ grant cuts but to conduct a lengthy, leading examination of Medicaid fraud — particularly in California.
Kennedy walked Blanche through a series of claims about California’s Medicaid program, which he said covers services including tribal prayers, exorcisms, herbal medicine, meal delivery, housing, gym memberships, bicycles, scooters, student loan repayment, and in-home chefs — paid for with federal matching funds at a 9-to-1 federal-to-state ratio.
Blanche confirmed or accepted most of Kennedy’s characterizations, though on several he said “I’ll accept that” rather than independently affirming the facts.
Kennedy’s core argument: because California puts up $1 for every $9 in federal funds, it treats the money as essentially “free” and has incentivized an explosion of fraudulent “healthcare providers.” He argued California — with 12 percent of the national population — is responsible for half of new so-called healthcare providers over the last decade.
Blanche acknowledged that some providers are outright thieves — “not even running it through for exorcism” — and said the new National Fraud Enforcement Division is a direct response to this kind of systemic fraud. Kennedy called Medicaid fraud a “Tier 1 slush fund” dwarfing the anti-weaponization fund in scale.
Note for readers: Several of Kennedy’s specific claims — including Medicaid paying for exorcisms, student loans, and in-home chefs — are worth independent verification. Blanche did not independently confirm most of these; he said “I’ll accept that” on several, which is not the same as knowing them to be true.
Epstein Survivors: A Recurring Fault Line
The Jeffrey Epstein case came up multiple times throughout the hearing, raised by Democratic senators and addressed under separate angles.
Meeting With Survivors
Sen. Van Hollen told Blanche that representatives of Epstein survivors had informed him they were frustrated that Blanche keeps calling for new evidence but had not met with the survivors themselves. Blanche said this characterization was “false” — that he and former AG Bondi had met with many survivors’ lawyers. He noted that if a victim has an attorney, he cannot legally reach out to the victim directly.
Sen. Murray separately pushed Blanche to reach out proactively — not wait for survivors to navigate the system. Blanche agreed to meet with survivors if Murray helps make the connection, calling the offer “great.”
The Epstein Files Release
Murray pressed Blanche to apologize for the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein file release — in which survivors’ names, sensitive personal information, and nude photos were released while alleged perpetrators’ names were redacted. Blanche explained the department had to review over 6 million documents in a short time; errors occurred in about .001 percent of cases; and DOJ pulled problematic documents immediately when notified, putting lawyers on 24/7 to respond to victim complaints.
When Murray pressed for a direct apology, Blanche said the department had “failed” any time a victim’s name was released that should not have been, and that it “never” wanted to release a single victim’s name. He did not deliver a clean, unqualified “I apologize” — a gap Murray repeatedly called out.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s Transfer
Sen. Reed pressed Blanche on his decision to personally interview convicted sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell at her federal prison — and the fact that, shortly after, Maxwell was transferred from one facility to another described by senators as providing better conditions, including a private room, private shower, and access to pet therapy. Blanche disputed that Maxwell was moved from a high-security to a lower-security facility, saying it was a transfer between two low-security facilities. He denied that President Trump had anything to do with his decision to interview Maxwell.
Status of Epstein Investigation
Sen. Merkley asked directly: is the Epstein investigation open or closed? Blanche said he didn’t understand what “the Epstein investigation” means, since Epstein himself is dead. He said any investigation into potential co-conspirators “will always be open if we have evidence.” Merkley noted that the FBI had reportedly stated in July 2025 that it had closed the Epstein investigation, and that Trump had publicly called for investigations of a list including Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and others. Blanche committed to pursuing investigations regardless of political affiliation.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: A Vanishing Report
Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) raised a concern that crossed partisan lines and drew an unusually candid “I don’t have an answer” from Blanche.
The Not Invisible Act, which Murkowski introduced and which became law, established a commission to address missing and murdered Indigenous persons. That commission issued its final report on November 1, 2023 — a substantive document produced after extensive consultation across Indian Country. Early in the second Trump administration, the report was removed from DOJ and Department of Interior websites, along with related materials.
Murkowski said Alaska Native communities, tribal leaders, and law enforcement keep asking her: where did it go? She asked Blanche three questions: why was it taken down, when will it be restored, and what concrete steps is DOJ taking to implement the recommendations?
Blanche said directly: “I don’t have an answer as to why it was taken down, but I will get back to you promptly.” He said tribal justice is a priority, that he has personally visited tribal communities, and that he views the underlying issues as a “funding and training issue that is our responsibility.” He committed to following up.
Murkowski also noted that the Operation Lady Justice initiative — stood up in Trump’s first term — had been a positive signal, but said confusing signals like removing public-facing resources undercut confidence.
Inspector General Budget Cuts: A Bipartisan Warning
Sen. Peters (D-MI) raised one of the most pointed fiscal arguments of the hearing: the FY 2027 budget cuts the DOJ’s Inspector General budget by nearly a third — even as the department’s overall budget grows.
Peters cited his committee’s own research showing that for every dollar invested in IGs, the estimated return — in fraud and waste recovered — is approximately 18 to 1. He argued the cut makes no financial sense, particularly when DOJ is simultaneously gaining funding through the reconciliation bill.
Blanche’s response: the IG budget “was developed consulting with the IGs,” and OMB and DOJ “worked with the IG’s office to come up with” this figure in an agreed-upon way. He argued that less money does not necessarily mean less output.
Peters was clearly skeptical, calling this explanation illogical: “If you have one-third fewer folks working… it makes no sense.” He linked the cut to a broader pattern: “I think it speaks volumes of what this administration is really focused on, and it’s not about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Background: Earlier in Trump’s second term, the administration fired multiple IGs across several agencies — a move widely criticized as undermining independent oversight. Peters referenced this directly as context for his concern.
Elections and the FBI’s Disbanded Foreign Influence Task Force
Sen. Peters raised the DOJ’s role in implementing President Trump’s March 31 executive order on federal elections — which directs DOJ, DHS, and the Postal Service to take actions including creating a federal citizenship list and new mail ballot rules. The order is being challenged in federal court.
Peters noted that reporting indicates implementation is being coordinated through White House meetings involving Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and that the DHS official leading election-related work is Heather Honey, whose prior work was described as central to efforts to challenge 2020 election results. Blanche said DOJ takes its policy direction from “President Trump and his leadership team.”
Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) pressed harder on election security, asking why Blanche had dissolved the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force — the interagency unit created after Russian interference in 2016 to protect U.S. electoral infrastructure. She argued the administration “aggressively fired” all the people put in charge of this effort.
Blanche countered that the task force was too Washington-centric and lacked state and local integration. He said the Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) now deployed in every state fill this function with better field coverage. Gillibrand was not satisfied and demanded a full written report to the committee. Blanche said she would get one.
Law Enforcement Recruitment, Retention, and the Memphis Model
Staffing Crisis Continues
Sen. Fischer (R-NE) cited her Recruit and Retain Act study showing officer resignations and retirements rose significantly from 2019 through 2024. She asked whether DOJ has concrete data on whether recruitment has improved. Blanche said recruitment remains “still a problem” but is a priority — attributing some of the 2019–2024 decline to what he described as an “inappropriate stigma” around law enforcement during that period.
Memphis Safe: A Success Story
Sen. Hagerty (R-TN) praised Operation Memphis Safe, which he said produced a 43 percent decrease in violent crime since the task force began. He asked Blanche to describe the model.
Blanche explained the “one government approach”: every day, federal and local law enforcement gather in one room, identify targets — whether wanted for violent crimes or outstanding warrants — and go get them together. Prosecutors are available on the spot to write warrants; state DAs are looped in for state charges. He said streets that were “unwalkable six months ago” now have new restaurants opening.
When Hagerty asked about jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate, Blanche said DOJ is “in many cases suing” cities that violate federal law in how they treat federal law enforcement. He also said he hopes that showing the Memphis model publicly will “shame” noncompliant local politicians.
OCDETF Dissolved, HSTF Model Expanded
Sen. Fischer raised the elimination of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) executive office from the budget, replaced by direct agency appropriations to DEA and FBI. Blanche argued the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) model is an improvement on OCDETF — eliminating overlaps and getting more money directly to the field.
Senator Hagerty’s Phone Records: Alleged Biden DOJ Abuse
Sen. Hagerty (R-TN) devoted his second block of questions to what he called the weaponization of DOJ under the Biden administration against him personally.
Hagerty said he learned “last year” that under President Biden, the DOJ had secretly subpoenaed his phone records from Verizon — without Verizon notifying him, even though he said Verizon was legally obligated to do so. When he brought this to Verizon’s attention, the company “stonewalled.” He filed an FCC complaint that also produced no resolution.
Hagerty connected the Verizon general counsel — Vandana Venkatesh, who previously worked for former Rep. Henry Waxman — to what he characterized as possible coordination with Biden DOJ officials. He also raised Verizon’s pending $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications as a possible motivation for Verizon to avoid antagonizing the Biden FCC.
Hagerty asked Blanche for a commitment that DOJ will work with him, Sen. Grassley, and Sen. Johnson to achieve “full accountability” for what he called this abuse of power. Blanche agreed “absolutely,” describing the subpoenaing of a senator’s phone records without notice as “in some ways the worst form of abuse by the Department of Justice.”
Context: Hagerty referenced DOJ’s internal program “Arctic Frost” as the vehicle used to obtain congressional phone records as part of investigations related to Trump and his allies. Blanche, notably, endorsed Hagerty’s characterization enthusiastically — framing it as exactly the kind of weaponization the new fund is intended to address.
ATF National Tracing Center
Sen. Capito (R-WV) highlighted the ATF National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia — which processed more than 600,000 firearm trace requests in FY 2024 alone and helped identify the individual who attempted to assassinate President Trump in Pennsylvania.
She expressed concern about ensuring trace data is limited to law enforcement and not misused, and asked how the FY 2027 budget sustains this capability. Blanche affirmed the NTC as “extraordinarily valuable” and said ATF Director Sakata — a two-decade ATF veteran — is focused on ensuring data is shared only for law enforcement purposes, with “guardrails” against abuse.
Gun Trafficking Data: A Year of Waiting
Sen. Gillibrand raised a smaller but telling complaint: she has been waiting over a year to receive basic gun trafficking data from DOJ — including the number of weapons seized and cases prosecuted under the enhanced laws allowing cross-state investigations. Blanche initially said he didn’t know what data she was referring to, then agreed to send it.
HIDTA: Staying in the White House, Not Moving to DOJ
Sen. Capito asked whether the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program — currently housed at the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) — might be moved to DOJ. She said she prefers it stays at ONDCP.
Blanche said he has had “zero issues” with the current arrangement. He noted President Trump’s commitment of over $11.4 billion to combat the drug crisis and said HIDTA money is flowing effectively through ONDCP. He also noted that DHS and HSI are key parts of the drug fight, and having HIDTA at a higher interagency level can help coordinate spending across the federal government.
DOJ Staffing Departures: Normal Turnover or Something More?
Sen. Capito asked Blanche to address the steady stream of headlines about senior DOJ officials departing and whether this represents normal attrition or a pattern of political discontent.
Blanche defended his team, calling it “phenomenal.” He attributed departures to the same pressures that lead any federal prosecutor to eventually leave: insufficient pay relative to private practice, family pressures, and the natural rhythm of political appointments. He said some on his team will stay four years and some will leave sooner, and that is “natural.”
Safer Supervision Act: A Bipartisan Note
Sen. Coons (D-DE) described legislation he is co-sponsoring with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) — the Safer Supervision Act, which also has support from Senators Tillis, Wicker, Cramer, and Lankford. The bill would make federal post-release supervision orders more targeted and analytical, arguing that nearly universal imposition of supervision leaves probation officers overworked and unable to focus on the people who most need close monitoring. More than 120,000 people are supervised annually under the current system.
Blanche expressed agreement with the bill’s premise without having reviewed the full text, and said he looks forward to working with Coons on it.
Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act
Sen. Merkley (D-OR) briefly raised the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act — bipartisan legislation that funds a National Academies of Science study of the “troubled teen industry,” in which an estimated 50,000 children per year are placed in residential programs with minimal regulatory oversight. Merkley said parents often believe they are sending children for help but are unknowingly sending them into abusive environments.
Blanche said simply: “Yes, of course” — agreeing to track the National Academies’ work and help find paths to reduce abuse.
Grant Administration Delays: Getting the Money Out the Door
Chairman Moran used part of his closing time to address slow grant disbursement — an issue affecting local law enforcement, community organizations, and mentoring programs. He asked Blanche to confirm that the department is now positioned to move FY 2025 and FY 2026 grants efficiently.
Blanche acknowledged the slowness, attributing a late start partly to delayed congressional approval of funding levels. He said all but one FY 2025 grant has been processed, and FY 2026 grants are now being started. Blanche committed that the process is rolling and improving.
The DEA Lab in New Hampshire
Sen. Shaheen raised a specific operational concern: a new New England Regional Drug Lab opened in Londonderry, New Hampshire — but DEA lacks sufficient personnel to operate it fully, because DOJ “routinely denied” DEA’s requests for greater staff allocations. Blanche committed that the FY 2027 budget addresses this personnel need and that he agrees it is crucial.
New Hampshire Bankruptcy Trustee Dispute
In one of the more unusual topics of the hearing, Sen. Shaheen raised a practical problem for New Hampshire residents: the U.S. Trustee for Region 1 did not appoint a new Chapter 13 standing trustee for New Hampshire, instead assigning New Hampshire’s duties to Maine’s standing trustee — over objections from the New Hampshire bankruptcy bar. The result has been a troubled transition in which debtors who completed payments were not discharged from bankruptcy, creditors and attorneys went unpaid, and a motion to remove the trustee was filed. Blanche said this problem exists in multiple districts and the department is “working very hard to rectify it.”
Source
Political Transcript Wire. “Senate Appropriations Committee, Commerce Subcommittee Hearing: A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of Justice.” VIQ Solutions Inc., 19 May 2026. U.S. Newsstream Collection, ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/usnews/wire-feeds/senate-appropriations-committee-commerce/docview/3343410251/sem-2.