A Senator's Test for the Next Attorney General: Will You Listen to Survivors?

When a U.S. senator says he won't vote for a cabinet nominee unless that person does something, people notice. According to The Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has set a specific condition for Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general: Blanche must meet with survivors of crimes connected to Jeffrey Epstein who have reached out to the Justice Department.

This matters because it cuts to the heart of what accountability looks like. The attorney general is the nation's chief law enforcement officer. That person wields enormous power over who gets investigated, who gets prosecuted, and whose voice gets heard in the system. If survivors of serious crimes can't get a hearing from the top cop in the country, something fundamental is broken.

Tillis framed it plainly: meeting with survivors is "a very important part of getting to yes" on confirmation. He said he has a "positive predisposition" toward Blanche, meaning this isn't a roadblock, it's a reasonable ask.

Why This Connects to Common Good Party Values

This is a moment that sits squarely under our pillar on Common Ground: fixing the machinery of democracy itself. When survivors of crime can't access the people responsible for enforcing the law, we've failed the basic test of equal protection. It's not about politics. It's about whether the system actually works for real people.

Our approach to criminal justice, under the Common Security pillar, centers on holding people accountable while giving people a path back. That starts with believing victims. It means the institutions charged with justice have to actually listen to them. A nominee for attorney general who won't meet with survivors sends the opposite message: your suffering doesn't warrant a conversation with the person who runs the Justice Department.

Tillis's condition is the kind of practical accountability that works. Not performative, not theatrical. Just: sit down and listen. If you're going to run the Justice Department, you need to understand what these people went through and what they're asking for.