Chuck Todd mocked senators, accusing them of staging a 4:30 AM session right before going on vacation

Former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd tore into Senate Republicans this week for their handling of Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general. As reported by Mediaite, Todd used Monday’s episode of his Chuck ToddCast to call out what he described as “freakin’ cowards” in the chamber.

Todd’s criticism centered on the timing of the vote, which wrapped up just before 4:30 AM on Saturday, right before lawmakers left for recess. He argued that these late-night sessions are little more than theater designed to make the Senate look productive, pointing out that members otherwise stick to two-day workweeks for much of the year. To him, the marathon session was a hollow show of effort rather than a genuine sign of hard work.

Todd also admitted that he had misjudged how Republicans would handle the nomination. He said he believed enough GOP senators would treat Blanche’s confirmation as a bridge too far and finally push back against the administration. Instead, the final vote came in at 50 to 49, with only Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski breaking from the party line.

Todd says the confirmation cost the Senate its leverage

Todd reserved some of his sharpest words for Senator John Cornyn, arguing that Republicans have constitutional tools to check the president but simply refuse to use them. “Do your f-cking job,” Todd said, before apologizing for the language and explaining that he felt the moment called for a stronger reaction. He argued that once Blanche was confirmed, the Senate effectively gave up whatever leverage it had left, amid broader questions about oversight of federal law enforcement that have also surfaced around ICE’s electric shock glove rollout this month.

The larger issue Todd raised is whether the attorney general answers to the public or to the president alone, especially since Blanche has suggested the rule of law now flows from the White House. Todd warned that this shift will likely deepen public distrust in the Department of Justice going forward. The frustration he voiced echoes a wider sense of political exhaustion among voters, one that has only intensified amid ongoing chatter about Trump’s political future and who might lead the Republican Party after him.

The Senate confirmed Blanche in a 50-49 vote, with Collins and Murkowski standing as the only Republicans to oppose his nomination.