Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said Thursday that he will not support Todd Blanche for attorney general unless President Donald Trump’s nominee first meets with women who say the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein abused them as minors.
Tillis announced his position during the second day of the acting attorney general’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying the meeting must occur before he is prepared to advance the nomination.
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“I have not made a final decision,” Tillis said of whether he will vote to advance Blanche to lead the Justice Department. “Todd Blanche said he’d meet with the Epstein survivors if it could be arranged. I expect that meeting to occur before I’m willing to vote him out of committee. There should be no reason why he wouldn’t.”
Hours after Tillis’s comments, a spokesperson for the DOJ said that Epstein victims were now expected to meet with Blanche Thursday afternoon.
The spokesperson said victims had requested a meeting with Blanche personally, rather than with staff, after Thursday’s hearing. Blanche rearranged previously scheduled meetings with senators to meet them on Capitol Hill, the spokesperson said, but the victims were “unable to attend” the original meeting time and it was rescheduled for later Thursday.
The department’s leadership has spoken with nearly 30 attorneys and organizations representing Epstein victims, including World Without Exploitation, a nonprofit group supporting the victims.
“He looks forward to their discussion,” the spokesperson added.
Blanche’s nomination faces an unusually narrow path through the committee. Following the July 11 death of Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republicans hold an 11-10 advantage. With Democrats expected to oppose Blanche unanimously, a single Republican defection could prevent the nomination from reaching the Senate floor.
If Democrats remain united, Tillis’s pledge effectively stalls the nomination until Blanche meets with the survivors.
“I’m trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes,” Tillis said.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), another pivotal Republican on the committee, has also withheld a final commitment on Blanche’s nomination. Cornyn appeared more receptive to supporting Blanche during Wednesday’s hearing, but did not say how he planned to vote.
Asked Thursday about Tillis’s request that Blanche meet with Epstein survivors, Cornyn said, “I think it would be good to do that, yeah,” though he did not say whether his vote hinged on Blanche meeting with victims.
The demand follows a contentious exchange on Wednesday between Blanche and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who asked the nominee to promise under oath that he would personally meet within 30 days 10 Epstein victims attending the hearing.
Blanche said he was open to such a meeting but could not contact survivors represented by attorneys without going through their counsel.
“They have lawyers, as you know. I’m prohibited from meeting directly with them,” Blanche said. “But if they are represented by counsel, we will work with their counsel.”
“I have never said I will not meet with survivors,” Blanche said. “When it comes to the victims of this horrible man, we will never, never not talk to victims.”
The nominee also rejected Democratic accusations that the Trump administration had mishandled the release of the Epstein files and failed to listen to survivors.
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Blanche pointed to the department’s review of more than 6 million pages under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He acknowledged that some victims’ information had been improperly disclosed but said the department removed or corrected the records after being notified and supplied unredacted copies to members of Congress for oversight.
