Murkowski says she will vote against Blanche for attorney general

Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she will vote against Todd Blanche's nomination for U.S. attorney general. She announced the decision Friday in a statement from her office.

Murkowski said Blanche came across as "decent and capable" in their meetings and credited his trip to learn about Alaska, including rural communities. She said that as acting attorney general, Blanche "has made several noteworthy decisions that will benefit our state and the nation." Despite that, she said, "Ultimately, however, I will oppose his nomination."

"The politicization, even weaponization of the department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it," Murkowski said in the statement, which she also posted online. She listed the handling of the release of the Epstein files, "the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses," statements made to anti-abortion groups, and the repeated targeting of people ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. senators.

Murkowski also pointed to what she called the department's "nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund," which she said likely would have rewarded Jan. 6 protesters. That money, she said, "is only off the table because this nomination is pending and the Senate has leverage. Once we vote, that will end, and there is no telling what the future holds."

She closed by saying the country needs an attorney general "who will check the worst impulses of this administration." She said she hopes Blanche can do that if confirmed but does not have confidence that will be the case.

Supporters of the nomination take a different view of the fund. Reporting on Aug. 6 said Blanche advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee after assuring Republican holdouts he would not pursue the payout fund and had already moved to end it.

Congressional reporters posting Friday said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is also opposed, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is undecided and Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky remains absent. NBC News congressional correspondent Ryan Nobles wrote that one more no vote would deny Blanche confirmation.

Murkowski told Yahoo News earlier that many constituents contacting her office opposed Blanche.