Senator Sheldon Whitehouse remarked that it was a “sad and embarrassing day for this committee,” right before Blanche’s nomination moved forward solely on a party-line vote. Whitehouse noted that Blanche was “probably the most discreditable person ever to seek the office of attorney general of the United States.” Outgoing Republican Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, who held up Blanche’s nomination until the acting attorney general vaguely assured them he would end Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund, ultimately cracked under the pressure and fell in line with their party earlier this week. Yet even Blanche’s former colleagues could see that he wasn’t right for the monumental role. Prior to the vote, hundreds of federal prosecutors urged the Senate to reject Blanche’s bid.