OPEN LETTER: Senator Tillis, Your "Positive Predisposition" Worries Me

Introduction: a Sunday confession that deserves a response

Dear Senator Tillis, I listened to your interview

Senator Thom Tillis, I closely followed your appearance last Sunday with Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" on CNN, where you said you have a "positive predisposition" toward acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom President Donald Trump now wants to confirm to the post permanently.

You said, word for word: "I'm going to follow the nomination process. I have a positive predisposition toward Blanche," a statement that, coming from you, a senator known for your repeated criticism of the Trump administration, deserves serious attention.

Why I'm writing you this open letter today

I'm writing you this letter not to attack you personally, but because your position illustrates a tension I see in many moderate Republicans: the ability to firmly criticize certain excesses of this administration while nearly always ending up falling in line behind its most controversial nominations.

This letter is my way of publicly asking you to account for that, not because I doubt your sincerity, but because what's at stake here goes far beyond the person of Todd Blanche: it's about the very independence of the American Department of Justice.

Todd Blanche's controversial record before this nomination

From Trump's personal lawyer to acting Attorney General

Senator, you know better than anyone that Todd Blanche is no anonymous lawyer who came out of nowhere: he was President Donald Trump's personal attorney before being elevated to acting Attorney General, a trajectory that naturally raises questions about his future independence from the man who appointed him.

You yourself acknowledged that Blanche was "one of the key reasons" the Department of Justice dropped its criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, a fact you present almost as an argument in his favor.

A replacement following Pam Bondi's controversial departure

This nomination comes after President Trump's dismissal of former Attorney General Pam Bondi last April, a firing that, according to several observers, was linked to her failure to deliver criminal prosecutions against the president's political opponents.

You had sworn, senator, not to support "any nominee who equivocates on January 6," a promise I am now publicly asking you whether it still holds in the face of Todd Blanche's candidacy.

The controversial $1.776 billion fund

A concern you yourself raised

Senator, you publicly criticized the Department of Justice's creation of a so-called "anti-weaponization" fund, worth $1.776 billion, established as part of a settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS.

You expressed a legitimate concern, that individuals convicted of assaulting police officers during the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack could receive public funds through this mechanism, a fear I share entirely.

A half-won victory, in your own words

You said you were "confident" in what you're seeing from Blanche if the Department can resolve these "distractions" before his confirmation, particularly that fund, adding: "Let's put that aside. The president, the acting attorney general, other members of the administration have said they've determined it's inoperative, that they won't move forward. Let's make it inoperative."

Yet, senator, allow me to remind you that President Trump himself called this fund a "great idea" even after the department shelved it, a contradiction your "positive predisposition" seems oddly willing to overlook.

Your Thursday meeting with the nominee

A meeting you called "good"

Last Thursday, you met Todd Blanche in person, a meeting you publicly described as "good," writing on the platform X: "I appreciated the opportunity to hear his vision for the Department of Justice and discuss the important work ahead of us."

By Sunday, you had gone further, calling Blanche a "very capable lawyer," a notable rhetorical shift from your initial, more cautious stance on this controversial nomination.

What this shift reveals about internal political pressure

Senator, I can't help but wonder whether this rapid shift in your rhetoric, from harsh criticism of the Department of Justice to an almost warm appreciation of its future head, reflects the considerable pressure placed on moderate Republicans like you as confirmation hearings approach.

This dynamic, if confirmed, would once again illustrate how difficult it has become, even for the most independent-minded lawmakers within the Republican Party, to maintain firm opposition to nominations desired by the White House.

The confirmation hearings of July 15 and 16 ahead

A tight schedule before the Judiciary Committee

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold two consecutive confirmation hearings on July 15 and 16, 2026 to examine Todd Blanche's nomination, a tight schedule that leaves little time to thoroughly explore the many questions his nomination raises.

Senator Tillis, as an influential member of this committee, you will carry a particular responsibility during these two days of hearings to ask the tough questions that your "positive predisposition" should never prevent.

Republicans still undecided, according to available information

A notable fact I want to highlight: several Republicans in the Senate remain, according to publicly available information, still undecided on whether to support Blanche's nomination, which suggests your position may not be as isolated as some might think.

This persistent indecision even within the Republican camp should, in my view, encourage more senators to demand concrete guarantees rather than settle for the administration's verbal statements of intent.

The lingering shadow of the Epstein affair over this file

Pam Bondi, still haunted by this explosive case

Senator, it would be dishonest to discuss this change at the Department of Justice without mentioning that your former Attorney General, Pam Bondi, remains haunted by her controversial handling of matters related to Jeffrey Epstein, having been subpoenaed by Congress to answer questions about the sex trafficking investigation.

This backdrop, which directly contributed to her downfall and eventual replacement by Blanche, shows just how much the American Department of Justice is going through a period of institutional turbulence rarely seen in decades.

The risk of a justice system perceived as weaponized

What I fear most, senator, is that this rapid succession of attorneys general, each chosen or removed based on their perceived loyalty to the president rather than their professional independence, will end up durably eroding the American public's trust in its own judicial system.

This erosion of trust, if it continues, would have consequences far more serious and lasting than any single controversy over a budget fund or an individual nomination, however important.

What your position says about the state of the Republican Party

Between sincere criticism and pragmatic alignment

Senator Tillis, your personal trajectory, that of a lawmaker capable of sharply criticizing his own party while generally ending up falling in line with major presidential decisions, fairly well sums up the current state of the Republican Party under President Donald Trump.

This dynamic, which I have observed for several years now, reveals the real limits of the check-and-balance power that the U.S. Congress, even when controlled by the same party as the executive, can exercise against a White House determined to impose its choices.

A test for the future of American judicial independence

Beyond your individual case, senator, these July confirmation hearings will constitute an important test of whether the U.S. Senate still retains a real capacity for critical review of the most sensitive presidential nominations.

I will keep following this file closely, sincerely hoping your "positive predisposition" will, when the time comes, give way to questions rigorous enough to genuinely reassure the American public about the independence of its justice system.

Why this file matters far beyond American domestic politics

A signal sent to America's allies and adversaries

Senator, allow me to widen the lens: the strength of American institutions, including the independence of its Department of Justice, sends an important signal to Western allies who rely on American democratic stability in the face of adversaries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.

A judicial system perceived as politicized weakens America's moral credibility when it claims to defend democracy and the rule of law against authoritarian regimes that have never even pretended to separate justice from political power.

The West needs strong American institutions

I believe deeply, senator, that the West needs an America whose institutions remain robust and independent, not only for reasons of democratic principle, but because the international credibility of the United States depends directly on perceptions of its own internal governance.

That is precisely why this confirmation file, however technical and internal it may appear, deserves the sustained attention of everyone who, like me, still believes in America's ability to embody a democratic model against authoritarian regimes around the world.

My final request, Senator Tillis

Don't forget your own warnings

Senator, I simply ask that you not forget your own past warnings about January 6 and about the "anti-weaponization" fund when the time comes to vote on Todd Blanche's confirmation before the full Senate.

Your "positive predisposition" can coexist with rigorous vigilance: it is precisely the tough questions asked by lawmakers like you, capable of criticizing your own party, that still give meaning to the exercise of the U.S. Senate's constitutional power of advice and consent.

An invitation to prove your independence is still real

I close this letter by inviting you, senator, to prove during the hearings of July 15 and 16 that your reputation as a critical moderate Republican is not just a facade, but a genuine conviction that will guide your final vote on this crucial nomination.

America, and by extension the entire Western world closely watching the strength of its institutions, deserves a Senate capable of seriously examining even the most politically delicate nominations.

What this file reveals about current institutional fragility

A Department of Justice in search of stability

Senator, this file more broadly illustrates the institutional fragility currently facing the American Department of Justice, buffeted between controversial departures, rapid nominations, and persistent suspicions of political weaponization.

This instability, if it continues beyond Blanche's eventual confirmation, would risk durably compromising the department's ability to conduct its investigations credibly, whether they concern domestic cases or national security matters.

Why your individual vote matters so much

In a Senate this closely divided, Senator Tillis, your individual vote can genuinely make the difference between a confirmation secured without meaningful opposition and a process that truly subjected the nominee to a rigorous and worthy examination.

It is this precise responsibility that I remind you of today, with the respect owed to your office but also with the rigor that all American citizens committed to the independence of their democratic institutions deserve.

The precedent this confirmation could set

A template for future similar nominations

Senator, the way this confirmation unfolds will inevitably set a precedent for future similar nominations, in which former personal lawyers of presidents could be elevated to justice positions that are supposed to demand total independence from the executive branch.

If this confirmation proceeds without serious opposition, it will further normalize this troubling practice, making it harder for future senators to oppose similar nominations down the road.

An opportunity to set a higher standard

Conversely, senator, if you and your colleagues on the Judiciary Committee demand genuine, concrete guarantees before voting, you will help establish a higher standard for all future nominations to this crucial post.

It is this historic opportunity, more than the mere confirmation of one man, that I invite you to seize during the hearings of July 15 and 16 before your committee.

A word on my own limits as an observer

I do not claim to know your real intentions

Senator, I must be honest: I cannot claim to know your real intentions beyond your public statements, and I acknowledge that my reading of your "positive predisposition" as a possible early alignment remains an interpretation, not an established fact.

It is entirely possible that you genuinely intend to use the July hearings to ask rigorous questions, and I would be the first to applaud such an approach if it actually materializes.

Why I chose the open-letter format

I chose the format of an open letter, rather than a detached analysis, because I believe political accountability is better exercised when named directly, with words that confront rather than generalities that commit no one.

This form, unusual as it may be in traditional journalism, seems appropriate for a file in which one senator's individual responsibility could genuinely weigh on the outcome of such a sensitive nomination.

What I take from your record so far

A senator who has already stood up to his own party

I readily acknowledge, Senator Tillis, that your record includes instances where you have stood up to your own party, particularly on sensitive institutional issues, which leads me to believe you are capable of genuine critical scrutiny if you choose to exercise it.

It is precisely this demonstrated capacity from the past that makes your current "positive predisposition" all the more worthy of close attention from political observers like me.

The hope that this file is not already sealed

I therefore hold on to the hope, perhaps naive but sincere, that your position on Todd Blanche's confirmation is not yet finally sealed, and that the July hearings will bring genuinely new elements capable of influencing your final vote.

It is with this hope, senator, that I close this open letter, thanking you in advance for whatever attention you may give it, should it ever reach you.

The Senate's historic role in overseeing nominations

A constitutional tradition more than two centuries old

Senator Tillis, allow me to remind you that the Senate's power of confirmation over presidential nominations dates back to the very origins of the American Constitution, designed precisely to prevent a president from filling the federal apparatus solely with loyalists free of any institutional check.

This tradition of advice and consent, observed with varying degrees of rigor across different eras, has had moments when the Senate did in fact reject or delay presidential nominations deemed problematic, proving that this power is not merely a symbolic formality.

A power that has slowly eroded over decades

Unfortunately, senator, many constitutional observers agree that this senatorial oversight power has gradually eroded over the decades, with partisan polarization having turned most confirmation votes into mere exercises in party discipline rather than genuine assessments of competence.

It is this gradual erosion, more than the individual nomination of Todd Blanche, that I see as the real underlying issue behind this file, which is why I am appealing to you with such insistence, senator.

Conclusion: a nomination that deserves more than automatic alignment

The real test comes on July 15 and 16

Ultimately, Senator Tillis, everything will hinge on the confirmation hearings of July 15 and 16, when you and your colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee will have the opportunity to show whether your "positive predisposition" still leaves room for a rigorous and sincere examination.

America, and the Western world watching it, deserves a confirmation process that is not merely a procedural formality, but one that truly embodies the serious exercise of the constitutional check-and-balance power entrusted to the Senate.

My commitment to keep following this file

I commit, senator, to continue following this file with the same journalistic rigor until its final outcome, whatever that may be, and to faithfully report on how you and your colleagues exercise this crucial responsibility.

In the meantime, I sincerely wish you the clarity of mind needed to make this vote an example of rigorous scrutiny rather than a simple gesture of partisan loyalty to an administration you have nonetheless shown yourself capable of criticizing in the past.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist

Columnist's transparency note

My convictions and my acknowledged biases

I write this open letter with an openly held conviction in favor of judicial independence and American institutional strength, a bias that necessarily colors my critical reading of Senator Tillis's "positive predisposition."

I acknowledge I cannot prove the senator's real intentions beyond his public statements, and I chose to frame my doubts as questions and direct appeals rather than categorical claims about his underlying motives.

What I don't know, and my method

I cannot predict with certainty the outcome of Todd Blanche's confirmation vote, nor whether Senator Tillis will actually ask rigorous questions during the July hearings.

My method relies exclusively on public statements reported by recognized media outlets, without invention or any direct testimony on my part regarding private exchanges to which I had no access.

Sources

Primary sources

Tillis has 'positive predisposition' toward Blanche's confirmation — The Hill, June 28, 2026

Pam Bondi topic page — WSLS, June 28, 2026

Secondary sources

House Armed Services Committee Approves $1.1 Trillion Defense Bill — Natural News, June 28, 2026

US lawmakers seek $750 million for Ukraine, move to rename Pentagon Department of War — Reuters, June 11, 2026

Senate committee backs Department of War name change — Military Times, June 11, 2026

H.R. 8800 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 — House Committee on Rules, June 29, 2026