Attorney General Todd Blanche Joins 2 Midterm Events, Testing DOJ Political Norms
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17
Attorney General Todd Blanche Joins 2 Midterm Events, Testing DOJ Political Norms
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17
Summary
Tuesday and Wednesday appearances put Todd Blanche back in overtly partisan territory: he attacked Democrats from the White House podium, then spoke at a North Carolina rally for Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
Those events extended a pattern since August, after Blanche praised New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman at a Long Island rally-style event and addressed the Republican Party’s midterm convention last week.
At both recent appearances, Blanche tied his message directly to the elections—calling Democratic AI concerns an attempt to influence the midterms and crediting Trump and Vance for falling crime rates.
The activity has drawn criticism because Justice Department leaders have long tried to avoid electoral politics to preserve the department’s apolitical credibility, a norm already under strain since January 2025.