Susan Collins

She cited the Justice Department’s creation of a since-scrapped “anti-weaponization” fund and the May settlement that protected President Donald Trump and his family from IRS tax audits. Her announcement means only one other Republican can oppose Blanche’s nomination on the Senate floor due to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) absence.

One undecided senator, John Curtis (R-UT), announced he’d vote “yes” on Tuesday, but Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are publicly noncommittal. All Democrats are expected to oppose Blanche, accusing him of being blindingly loyal to the president.

Blanche is Trump’s ex-personal attorney and was previously confirmed to the role of deputy attorney general. He became acting attorney general after Pam Bondi stepped down in April.

Collins’s announcement comes after she spoke “at length” with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Tuesday night.

“In her typical due diligence, she asked me a lot of questions,” said Cornyn, who held up Blanche’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee until he got the DOJ to submit in writing that the anti-weaponization fund was dead and that there were limits to the tax immunity deal.

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In her statement, Collins also based her vote on the DOJ’s attempted prosecution of Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) over their video encouraging service members to disobey unlawful orders. She also referenced reporting that Blanche would be cracking down on the mailing of abortion pills.

Collins, who is running for a sixth term in November, is the rare Republican to support women’s access to abortion.