Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a group of faith leaders that the Trump administration is working to ensure the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization becomes a lasting reality across all 50 states. Blanche also indicated that new limits on mail-order abortion pills are under consideration as the administration continues advancing its pro-life agenda.
Blanche made the remarks during a private conference call last week organized by the White House Faith Office and Intercessors for America, according to Politico.
“We will have victory, and victory will be soon, and it will be permanent,” Blanche said.
He acknowledged that efforts to restrict abortion in states where it remains legal have moved more slowly than administration officials had hoped.
According to Blanche, the Justice Department is coordinating closely with federal health agencies, the White House, and President Donald Trump’s team to achieve those objectives.
Blanche also suggested that the administration intends to curb the distribution of abortion medication through the mail.
“If states have said, ‘We are going to protect the unborn and we’re going to protect every life from the moment of conception,’ we’re putting practices and policies in place so that other states and other organizations can’t attack that,” Blanche said. “They can’t do things like they’re doing with mailing in mail-order drugs.”
He did not specify whether the administration plans to rely on the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal anti-obscenity statute that some conservatives have argued could be used to prohibit the mailing of abortion pills and certain medical equipment.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion and returning authority over abortion laws to individual states.
Despite that ruling, the overall number of abortions nationwide has continued to increase, driven in part by the expansion of mail-order abortion medication and “shield laws” adopted by several Democrat-led states that protect abortion providers from prosecution.
The Biden administration permanently removed the requirement that patients obtain mifepristone in person in 2023, allowing the abortion drug to continue being distributed by mail. The Trump administration has not reversed that policy.
Meanwhile, Blanche moved a step closer Tuesday to winning Senate confirmation as attorney general after clearing a key procedural hurdle.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination by a 12-10 party-line vote, advancing President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney to consideration by the full Senate. Blanche has served as acting attorney general since succeeding Pam Bondi in April while helping implement the administration’s priorities.
The committee vote followed an agreement reached Sunday between Blanche and Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had previously threatened to oppose his nomination over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS concerning the release of the president’s tax returns.
Cornyn and Tillis ultimately backed Blanche after the Justice Department provided written confirmation that it would not proceed with a proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for Trump allies who contend they were prosecuted for political reasons, a provision that had been announced as part of the settlement.
Blanche’s nomination now heads to the full Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority and are expected to have the votes needed for confirmation.
However, his recent comments on abortion could complicate support from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both of whom have broken with their party on abortion-related issues in the past.
Even if Collins and Murkowski vote against the nomination, Republicans could still confirm Blanche as long as no more than two GOP senators oppose him, assuming Sen. Mitch McConnell is absent and all senators aligned with Democrats vote no.
{Matzav.com}