Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) announced on Friday morning that he will support Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, positioning himself as the decisive vote on the confirmation. Blanche served as Trump's personal defense attorney during the Manhattan criminal proceedings before being nominated to lead the Justice Department.

Cassidy stated that while he has a "history" with President Donald Trump, he did not factor that into his decision. The relationship between Trump and Cassidy has been strained since the senator voted in 2021 to proceed with Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Trump later backed another Republican challenger against Cassidy in the GOP primary, contributing to the longtime senator's defeat. Trump raised the matter again in an interview with Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman that aired on Friday.

The president has indicated that if Blanche's nomination failed in a Senate vote, he would retain Blanche as an "acting" attorney general until another confirmation vote could be held in 2027. Such an arrangement would extend well beyond the time limits typically governing acting officials under federal vacancies law.

"I've got to be convinced that he is an attorney general who just happens to have once been President Trump's personal attorney, as opposed to President Trump's personal attorney who is now the attorney general. I think there's a big difference between the two," Cassidy said Wednesday on The Briefing with Steve Scully.

Over the past several weeks, Cassidy has articulated two principal concerns regarding Blanche's nomination to lead the Justice Department. First, he expressed unease about the department being used against the president's political adversaries — a concern that has become central to the broader national debate over the independence of federal law enforcement.

"I am very concerned about so-called lawfare — people being prosecuted not for a valid reason beyond somebody in high office being angry at them," Cassidy told Scully.

Second, Cassidy objected to a settlement agreement between Trump, the Justice Department, and the IRS that would shield Trump, his family, and his businesses from all future IRS audits.

"Mr. Blanche showed poor judgment in approving the anti-weaponization slush fund and exempting the president from IRS audits. No American should be unfairly targeted by the law. No American should be above the law," Cassidy said in a speech.

Speaking to reporters in May at the announcement of the fund, Cassidy said: "I don't actually see any legal precedent for that. We are a nation of laws, you can't just make up things whole-piece. Somebody explained it to me this way, an attorney. … It is as if somebody sued themselves and agreed upon a settlement with themselves that's going to be funded by the rest of us. If that's the case: What?!"

Cassidy added that after spending recent months campaigning, he found that Americans were more focused on "making ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent. We're a nation of laws. If there needs to be a settlement, let's consider it and Congress should come together and decide on that."