‘It’s a possibility’: Todd Blanche weighs Supreme Court appeal after federal judges blocked the DOJ from accessing state voter rolls in 22 cases

Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department may ask the Supreme Court to step in after judges ruled against the federal government’s push to access state voter rolls before the November midterms. He made the comment during an interview on NBC News‘ Meet the Press.

When asked if he would appeal the 22 cases the Justice Department has lost so far, Blanche said, “Absolutely, it’s a possibility.”

Blanche defended the department’s efforts, saying election integrity was a major focus of President Trump’s campaign. He said the public elected Trump with that goal in mind, and that investigating election issues is something the department should pursue rather than avoid.

Lawsuits followed an executive order from Trump seeking voter data from states

The legal fight began after Trump signed an executive order asking states to hand over their voter rolls. The requested data includes voters’ names, dates of birth, home addresses, state driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

The push follows Trump’s calls to nationalize election control, which he has tied to broader claims about how U.S. elections are run.

The federal government has said the data would help the Justice Department look into any “deficiencies” or “anomalies” in state voter rolls, including checking whether any noncitizens are registered to vote.

Some states agreed to share their voter data with the administration. But 30 states and Washington, D.C. did not comply, leading the Justice Department to sue them. Federal judges in states including Oregon and Michigan have since sided with at least 22 of those states, blocking the federal government from accessing their voter rolls.

Voter roll management has traditionally been handled by individual states, and the federal government does not typically maintain this kind of data. Several of the states opposing the Justice Department’s request are led by Republican governors, including Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Georgia, and Vermont.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, told Meet the Press last month that state officials are in a better position than the federal government to manage elections.

Blanche responded to that argument on Sunday, saying, “We’re not going to stop doing what I think every American should expect us to do, which is make sure that we have elections that are fair.” He added that the Justice Department’s role includes making sure there are no legal or constitutional violations, even at the state level.

Blanche was confirmed by the Senate this month after serving several months as acting attorney general. His confirmation followed an agreement he made with Republican Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, who had raised concerns about a settlement the Justice Department reached with Trump following his lawsuit against the IRS.

One sticking point in that settlement was a proposed “anti-weaponization” fund worth nearly $2 billion. The fund would have allowed individuals to seek compensation from the Justice Department if they believed it had been used against them unfairly. Blanche repeated what he had told Tillis and Cornyn earlier, telling host Kristen Welker, “I’ve said repeatedly: It’s dead.”