Todd Blanche gave an unremarkable speech to his DOJ underlings after his confirmation. He didn’t rant about Trump’s priorities and threaten to fire anyone who wasn’t on board with them; instead, he thanked his attorneys for their professionalism and assured them that he valued them. Does this mean Blanche can be trusted to run a normal DOJ? Is he prepared to be Becket to Trump’s Henry II?
Don’t hold your breath. Blanche is smart enough to recognize that it would be a public relations disaster to broadcast his partisanship after an awkward confirmation process. In addition, he’s already reshaped the DOJ in his own image over the last several months, so his confirmation doesn’t represent any change in course.
You have to admit, however, that the implicit identification of Melania with Eleanor of Aquitaine is highly amusing.