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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has responded to Senator Susan Collins' decision to oppose his nomination, saying he is "not worried" about the outcome in the coming days. Blanche's remarks come as his DOJ nomination faces heightened scrutiny and political debate on Capitol Hill.

The exchange has added fresh attention to the confirmation process, with lawmakers divided over Blanche's nomination and its implications for the Department of Justice. Watch the latest updates, Senate reactions, and analysis of the confirmation battle.

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00:00Black eyes, I appreciate it.
00:01You've heard about your confirmation given Susan Collins came out yesterday and said that she's a no.
00:05Are you worried about potentially other Republicans defecting in the next few days?
00:09And what's your message to them if they do?
00:11Well, my message, I've been talking to Republicans and Democrats for the past several months,
00:17and I'll continue to do so, and my team has been as well.
00:19So, no, I'm not worried about what's going to happen over the next couple of days.
00:23I'm hopeful that the work, like what we're talking about today,
00:26the body work the department has done over the past year and a half,
00:31of which I'm a very small part of, is something that the Senate recognizes.
00:36But, look, I'm not going to do anything except continue to communicate with anybody who has questions
00:43about anything involving the department that I can answer or me personally that I can answer.
00:49So, we'll see.
00:50But, all right, thanks, guys.
00:51Yeah, I actually don't have any follow-up.
00:53I'll take one more.
00:54Alex.
00:54Yeah, I mean, so you've declined to say whether you stand by Jennifer's decision to drop that case.
01:01I'm just, what message does it send, though, if President Trump fires a U.S. attorney
01:05because she determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge four people with a crime?
01:11Did he fire her?
01:12I mean, what message would it send, I said?
01:15Hypothetically, if the president chose to fire a United States attorney,
01:17it turns out he's allowed to do that because he's the president of the United States.
01:21So, I don't, and by the way, he, if the president wanted, if President Trump wanted to fire anybody, right,
01:27within his administration, he understands he has the power to do that.
01:32So, when he makes a decision about whether to fire a U.S. attorney or anybody else, that's his.
01:38As far as any message, what I said earlier, Alex, is true,
01:42which is that when you look at the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office's body of work over the past
01:49year and a half
01:50and where we are in this city compared to where we were, they are doing a phenomenal job.
01:56Now, does that mean that every case goes exactly the way that President Trump or I want or U.S.
02:01Attorney Pirro wants?
02:02I mean, of course not. It doesn't.
02:04So, I think that what you've seen play out in the press with respect to President Trump and U.S.
02:10Attorney Pirro is,
02:11it's all out there already, but I don't think that that changes the fact that her prosecutors, her office,
02:18what they've done over the past year to transform the city into a place that we can all now walk
02:25around in after sunset
02:27is something that's incredible.
02:29So, I don't think they're inconsistent with each other.
02:31All right, I'll take one more question.
02:33Sir, as you step into the next phase, presuming you're confirmed in this job,
02:37the President will certainly hold you accountable for moving forward with any of the cases
02:42that are in his sort of collection of desired outcomes, whether it's Comey,
02:47whether it is anything related to the reflecting pool.
02:51How do you advise the President on the difference between what he may want to see
02:55and the rules of evidence and the confines of law that you have to adhere to?
03:00It sounds like you're saying Judge Pirro got it right.
03:03And how would you advise the President on these matters going forward?
03:08Well, a couple reactions to that.
03:10One, my current job is the same as what my job will be.
03:15So, to the extent that President, and as the Deputy Attorney General, I was in charge of the U.S.
03:20Attorney.
03:20So, it's not as if I remain blissfully unaware of what will happen if I'm confirmed.
03:26President Trump is extraordinarily focused on making this country safe.
03:30And does that mean he's going to publicly and privately make sure that everybody in this government,
03:34not just DOJ, but everybody in this government is doing that?
03:37Yes, and I don't have any issues with – I'm not going to talk ever about my communications with President
03:44Trump,
03:44but President Trump, when he talks about what he expects this department to do to make this country safe,
03:51I don't think the American people should look at that as some sort of threat to me or warning to
03:56me.
03:56He wants this country to be safe, and so I – and I happen to agree with him on that.
04:01So, if we have discussions where we have to talk about a case and whether we're going to charge a
04:07case
04:07or whether we have charged a case, that's okay.
04:10But, no, I'm not concerned about anything new with my responsibility, you know,
04:16if I'm confirmed in the next couple days compared to what my responsibilities have been really since March of last
04:23year,
04:23but obviously since April of this year as well.
04:26So, all right, thanks a lot, guys.
04:27I appreciate it.
04:27You said about your confirmation given Susan Collins came out yesterday and said that she's a no.
04:32Are you worried about potentially other Republicans defecting in the next few days?
04:36And what's your message to them if they do?
04:38Well, my message – I've been talking to Republicans and Democrats for the past several months,
04:44and I'll continue to do so.
04:45And my team has been as well.
04:46So, no, I'm not worried about what's going to happen over the next couple days.
04:50I'm hopeful that the work, like what we're talking about today, the body work the department has done
04:55over the past year and a half, of which I'm a very small part of, is something that the Senate
05:02recognizes.
05:03But, look, I mean, I'm not going to do anything except continue to communicate with anybody who has questions
05:10about anything involving the department that I can answer or me personally that I can answer.
05:16So, we'll see.
05:17But, all right.
05:17Thanks, guys.
05:18Senator Durbin, excuse me a line.
05:19Senator Durbin, excuse me a line.
05:21Senator Durbin, excuse me a line.
05:22It's about today.
05:23Senator Durbin, excuse me a line.
05:25I do want to ask you, what is the relationship in the communication level with your counterparts
05:31in the Mexican government?
05:32I know you have to be careful here, but is that improving?
05:35Is it just kind of plateaued?
05:37You know, they could help out probably a little bit more, right?
05:40Yeah.
05:41So, the communication is constant.
05:42And having worked in Mexico previously with Matt, where's Matt, previously, we worked
05:49on the ground together.
05:50And we continue to work on the ground together, both countries working together.
05:56Do I still communicate with Omar Garcia-Refuch?
05:59I do.
06:00We have a relationship.
06:02He wants the best for his country.
06:04I want the best for this country and the Americans and our national security.
06:08And we stand firm, not only on the current cases, the cases that have been unsealed,
06:14and what's about to happen.
06:18Good, David?
06:19All right, sir.
06:20Thank you all.
06:20You guys, I appreciate it.
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