Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has announced her opposition to confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general, a move that leaves Senate Republicans with no margin for error in what has become a narrowly contested nomination fight.

Blanche, who served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney during the Manhattan hush money criminal trial and was previously a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, was nominated to lead the Justice Department — an institution that historically prizes independence from the White House and oversees federal prosecutors, the FBI, and the DEA.

With Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expected to be absent and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) also indicating she would vote against confirmation, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) emerged as the decisive vote, according to reporting by Jake Johnson of Common Dream. Cassidy, who lost reelection to a challenger backed by President Donald Trump, had not publicly disclosed his position until the final hour.

In a statement, Murkowski outlined multiple concerns about Blanche's record and conduct. She cited his handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, immunity protections extended to Trump and his family members, statements made to anti-abortion organizations, and what she described as the targeting of specific individuals, including sitting senators.

"I am also keenly aware that the Department's nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund — which likely would have rewarded January 6 protesters — is only off the table because this nomination is pending and the Senate has leverage. Once we vote, that will end, and there is no telling what the future holds," Murkowski added.

Cassidy, who met privately with Blanche, had previously stated that the nominee must serve as "an attorney general who just happens to have been Trump's personal attorney," rather than the reverse. He ultimately revealed in a dramatic decision that he would vote to confirm Blanche, despite acknowledging reservations.

Cassidy's political history with Trump has been complicated. He previously voted to convict Trump on charges of inciting the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol during the Senate impeachment trial. More recently, however, Cassidy cast the deciding vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, as reported by NBC News.

Senate Republicans had been pushing to confirm Blanche before the August recess, heightening the stakes around Cassidy's decision. The nomination has drawn scrutiny over Blanche's dual role as both a potential head of the Justice Department and a figure with deep personal and professional ties to the president he would serve. The confirmation vote will determine whether the DOJ moves forward under leadership chosen for loyalty as much as for prosecutorial independence, and Cassidy's trajectory — from voting to convict Trump to repeatedly providing the margin for his nominees — underscores the leverage a single senator holds when the majority narrows.