AG Nominee Blanche Faces Senate Vote as CLARITY Act Ethics Fight Hinges on DOJ Power
Highlights
- The Senate Judiciary Committee votes Tuesday to advance the Todd Blanche AG nomination, blocked not by Democrats but by GOP Senators Cornyn and Tillis over a $1.8B IRS fund dispute.
- As Deputy AG, Blanche disbanded the DOJ crypto enforcement team, so his confirmation would lock in a lighter enforcement stance for Bitcoin, XRP, and ETF flows.
- The vote is entangled with the stalling CLARITY Act, whose 2026 passage odds Galaxy Research has cut to 30% ahead of the August recess.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday to advance the Todd Blanche AG nomination to the full Senate floor. Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense attorney and current acting attorney general, is closely associated with a pro-crypto DOJ posture.
What’s Blocking the Blanche Nomination?
The Todd Blanche AG nomination has hit unexpected friction, not from Democrats, but from within the Republican caucus.
Senators John Cornyn (TX) and Thom Tillis (NC) withheld support, demanding written DOJ assurances over a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund tied to an IRS settlement.
Committee Chair Chuck Grassley acknowledged his side lacked the votes, postponing an earlier markup “per standard committee practice.”
Blanche can afford zero Republican defections in committee. That math explains why Tuesday’s rescheduled vote carries weight beyond the nomination itself.
The White House held active talks with Cornyn’s office, and Senate floor vote signals on both the AG nomination and the CLARITY Act are converging in the same narrow pre-recess window.
Tuesday’s outcome is a key watch for Bitcoin and XRP price outlook investors who are already tracking the stalling CLARITY Act ahead of the August 8 Senate recess.
Why Crypto Markets Are Watching the Blanche Vote
When Blanche served as Deputy AG in April 2025, he issued the “Ending Regulation by Prosecution” memo.
It disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) and directed DOJ prosecutors to stop treating regulatory non-compliance as a primary criminal matter for crypto platforms.
The department would instead focus on actual fraud, terrorism financing, and cartel activity.
Democratic senators raised conflict-of-interest concerns after disclosures showed Blanche held over $150,000 in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana around the time the memo was issued.
He later transferred those assets. Still, a confirmed Todd Blanche AG nomination would lock that lighter enforcement stance in at the department’s top, just as the CLARITY Act ethics package designates DOJ as the sole enforcer of restrictions on crypto-involved officials.
The stakes are high for digital asset markets. Galaxy Research has cut 2026 CLARITY Act passage odds to 30%, with passage odds falling further as the ethics standoff drags on.
A Blanche confirmation could ease bipartisan concerns over enforcement credibility, while a stall keeps regulatory overhang alive for Bitcoin, XRP, and institutional ETF flows.
Also, Standard Chartered’s conditional $8 XRP target and JPMorgan’s $4.3–$8.4 billion first-year XRP ETF inflow estimate are both tied to CLARITY Act passage.
The Senate hold on the CLARITY Act is partly entangled with the same Republican disputes slowing Blanche, making both storylines inseparable for crypto desks this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged the Senate to vote on the CLARITY Act now.
Yet time is running short. August 10 marks the start of the Senate’s state work period, the practical deadline most analysts treat as the bill’s 2026 cutoff.
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