U.S. Senator Katie Britt Questions Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche During his Confirmation Hearing

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, participated in the confirmation hearing for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve as Attorney General (AG) of the United States. During the hearing, Senator Britt honored the life and memory of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), discussed combating violent crime and supporting law enforcement, the mifepristone abortion pill, tackling the underage gambling crisis, and addressing elder financial fraud. Senator Britt began by addressing Acting AG Blanche’s commitment to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, and highlighted Democrat’s hypocrisy, saying, “I appreciate your commitment to all of the victims, the Epstein victims, your commitment to hear from them and fight for them. Thank you for saying that today. I only wish that my Democratic colleagues had that same level of conviction when it came to meeting with the families of those who have lost loved ones at the hands of illegal aliens … I can only hope that [Democrats] will answer the call and meet with their own constituencies who unfortunately have lost ones that they hold dear.” Senator Britt then praised the work the Department of Justice (DOJ) has done to address crime across the nation under Acting AG Blanche’s leadership: “ I want to applaud the work that you and DOJ have done to reduce crime and violent crime across the country. We’ve heard it a number of times here today … in the chairman’s opening, to Senator Moody talking about it, to you talking about it. We currently have the lowest murder rate that we’ve had since 1900. When you’re looking at violent crime arrests, we are up 184%. This is real results. This is what you’re supposed to be doing, keeping Americans safe. We know that you’ve done that through a number of ways, tasks forces and joint operations, interagency cooperation … so we’re glad that our children are safer and that our communities are safer.” Senator Britt pointed to the success these task forces have had in Alabama, asking Acting AG Blanche, “Can you speak to the work of these task forces and the success that you’ve seen, and how you intend to build upon this work moving forward, if and when confirmed?” Acting AG Blanche responded saying, “So the Homeland Security Task Force regime that we’ve set up in every single state and every single district in this country is designed to do … just what you were describing. So work not just with the federal government, not just DOJ, but to work with Department of Homeland Security, sheriffs, cops, local prosecutors, local law enforcement, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys to go into that community and eradicate it of human trafficking, drug dealers, narcoterrorism … and the results are evident in the statistics that we show.” In her next line of questioning, Senator Britt honored the life and work of Senator Graham by discussing an issue they both care deeply about, protecting the lives of the unborn and the safety of mothers : “I want to take a brief moment, our distinguished and late colleague, Senator Graham, was excited about your nomination. He was passionate about many things which we saw here in this committee, just in amazing ways. One of the things that he was a champion of was the unborn, and that is a deeply held conviction that we both have. And I want to talk to you and address the issue of the chemical abortion drug that we have seen just spread coast to coast. As you know, pursuant to a Biden-era administrative action … there is no longer an in-person dispensing requirement in place for the drug, mifepristone. It allows it to literally be dispersed across state lines all across the country. We are losing children and we are putting women in harm’s way.” The Senator then recounted the story of Jona Affholder, noting her attendance at the hearing, stating, “I know many people have read her story in recent news articles about her then boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, a doctor, no less, actually forcing a crushed abortion pill into her mouth in the middle of the night, then taking her keys, holding her hostage so that she could not go get help. This is sick and twisted and must stop.” She then asked Blanche, “Can you commit to me today that this administration and DOJ will prioritize taking meaningful and thoughtful action to address the dangers that occurred in the current status quo to women all over this country?” Blanche voiced his commitment, saying “ Absolutely, Senator. And it’s not only what the Department of Justice can do, but it’s what the FDA is doing right now, for the first time in a decade, actually doing real studies about the safety and the appropriateness of these drugs … I very much commit our resources to stopping this.” Senator Britt then shifted to the rising threat of illegal offshore gaming and the harmful effects on America’s youth: “I want to turn to an issue that I also raised with former Attorney General Bondi. And that’s illegal offshore gaming and the concern and the rise of illegal gaming amongst minors. In 2024, a study found that individuals who began gambling before the age of 18 are 50% more likely to develop an addiction to gambling. This has become a major issue among America’s youth, in particular America’s young men. Just last year in the Northern District of Alabama, we saw a case where ten men pleaded guilty to managing a sports betting operation and accepted over $2 billion in wagers via an offshore server located in Costa Rica. Senator Blumenthal and I have worked together on this issue and recently introduced the GAME Act, which would prohibit social media companies and advertising websites from targeting minors with sports betting advertising online. We also sent a letter to DOJ encouraging the department to use its existing statutory authorities to pursue injunctive relief and to block illegal offshore gaming operations. I want to tell you how much I appreciate the response. It was very substantive that I got to that letter. But can you also commit to me today that you’re going to make this issue a priority and take robust action to combat the reach of illegal gaming operations within the United States and then in particular, the targeting of minors through this?” Blanche responded with his commitment to continue to address this crisis. In her final line of questioning, Senator Britt discussed preventing elder financial fraud and her bill, the GUARD Act , aimed at protecting the elderly from scammers and financial fraud: “As our society ages … it will continue to be a problem that we must take robust action to address, particularly given technological advances and other ways that this fraud is occurring. I introduced the GUARD Act with Senator Gillibrand, and it would allow state and local law enforcement agencies … to use certain federal grant funding to utilize [the] blockchain for investigating financial fraud. It would also permit federal law enforcement to assist state and local law enforcement with tracing tools for blockchain technology. I’m thrilled it was reported out of this committee by voice vote earlier this year. I know that DOJ has programs in place like [the] Elder Justice Initiative, but can you speak specifically to DOJ’s efforts with respect to elder financial fraud and the extent to which we will work to continue to make this a priority under your leadership and the importance of collaboration with state and local law enforcement officers as we work to bring justice to these people who have been abused?” Blanche responded, “Yes, Senator, we are very focused not only at main Justice, but at every U.S. Attorney’s office on protecting our elderly, who are absolutely victims of scams of any sort. And many of the scams are coming from overseas … and so we are we’ve, we’ve charged, I think, over 300 this year alone. We’ll keep on doing that, and it has been a priority, as it should be, and it will remain a priority of the Department to, to target these, these criminals again, many of whom are not even in this country, going after our senior citizens.” You can watch the Senator’s full remarks here . ###