U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that he’ll use a procedural move to stall Justice Department nominees as former President Donald Trump faces federal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges at a courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, just days after his indictment was unsealed. The Justice Department, with special counsel Jack Smith at the helm, accused the former president of storing and hiding classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and showing them to others.
The documents included information about the U.S. nuclear program and the defense capabilities of the United States and other countries, according to the indictment.
Vance, a staunch ally of Trump, said he will hold future nominations to the Justice Department under President Joe Biden’s administration. This would force the Senate to conduct floor votes for all nominees instead of quickly approving them through unanimous consent − a common move for noncontroversial appointments. Vance’s hold slows the process down, but he can’t stop it entirely on his own.
He won’t use the hold for people nominated to the U.S. Marshals Service.
“We have to grind this department to a halt until (Attorney General) Merrick Garland promises to do his job and stop going after his political opponents,” Vance said in a Twitter video.
Vance and other Ohio Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense, accusing the Justice Department of targeting Biden’s likeliest opponent in the 2024 election. Vivek Ramaswamy, a longshot presidential candidate who lives near Columbus and is from the Cincinnati area, said he’ll pardon Trump if elected and called on other candidates to make the same pledge.
Democrats quickly panned Vance’s announcement.
“So much for the party of ‘law and order,'” tweeted U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Trump’s Republican allies are again holding up critical federal law enforcement officers − who prosecute violent crime, terrorism, and crimes against children − from being quickly confirmed.”
