Tillis says he will not vote for Todd Blanche’s confirmation unless the nominee meets with Epstein survivors

Sen. Thom Tillis said he would not support the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, unless Blanche meets with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, setting an additional condition that could affect whether all Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee back the nominee.

In comments reported by PBS NewsHour, Tillis described the meeting with Epstein survivors as a prerequisite to his vote. The statement was framed around a committee process in which Blanche’s candidacy would need support from every Republican member to clear the panel, according to the report.

Blanche, nominated to serve as attorney general, would require a confirmation vote in the Senate after proceeding through the committee stage. If Tillis withholds his vote, the committee could be delayed or forced to take additional steps, depending on how other members proceed and whether the nominee or administration agrees to the condition.

The dispute is centered not on a specific legal document but on an expected review and vetting step for a nominee to a top law enforcement role. Tillis’s position, as characterized by PBS NewsHour, links the nomination’s momentum to whether Blanche is willing to meet directly with people who have publicly recounted surviving abuse connected to Epstein.

The timing stakes are tied to when the Senate would be able to consider Blanche. Committee votes can move quickly when a nomination attracts broad support, while a single senator’s refusal can change the scheduling of follow-on proceedings and constrain leaders’ ability to set a confirmation timeline.

Tillis’s condition also underscores how senators may use the confirmation process to raise questions they say are important for public trust and institutional legitimacy in law enforcement. For a nominee who would oversee federal prosecutors and major components of the Justice Department, any additional step requested during vetting can become part of the record lawmakers reference when deciding whether to advance or oppose a nomination.

No additional details about the planned format, timing, or participants in any survivor meeting were provided in the PBS NewsHour report. The next immediate question for the committee and the administration is whether Blanche will agree to meet with Epstein survivors as a condition for Tillis’s support, and what that would mean for the committee vote timeline.