The Daily BS • Bo Snerdley Cuts Through It!
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‘Beyond inappropriate!’ Todd Blanche endorses Blakeman and sends Trump critics into orbit

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BS BULLETIN

  • Attorney General Todd Blanche joined Trump on Long Island and endorsed Republican Bruce Blakeman for New York governor.
  • Critics immediately called Blanche’s political appearance “beyond inappropriate.”
  • But federal rules don’t categorically prohibit Senate-confirmed Cabinet officials from political activity — making the legal picture considerably less dramatic than the outrage suggests.

Well, that didn’t take long.

Todd Blanche has barely settled into the attorney general’s chair, and his critics are already clutching their pearls over his appearance Friday with President Donald Trump and Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman.

Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel joined Trump at the Nassau County Police Academy on Long Island for an event centered on law enforcement, falling violent-crime numbers and Blakeman’s campaign to defeat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Trump wasn’t subtle about the politics. He praised Blakeman, attacked Hochul and told the crowd Republicans needed to put the Nassau County executive in Albany. “How the hell can you lose to that?” Trump said of Hochul.

Trump added of Blakeman:

“He’s going to be a great governor.”

Blanche got his own turn at the microphone and made clear that he was supporting Blakeman. And that was apparently the cue for Washington’s emergency supply of smelling salts.

MS NOW columnist Michael A. Cohen declared on X:

“It’s beyond inappropriate for the Attorney General even to attend a political rally.”

Former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd offered some sarcasm of his own:

“Trying to remember what Merrick Garland’s rally speech was like for Kathy Hochul in 2022…”

There’s a legitimate argument about whether Americans want the nation’s attorney general participating in campaign events. The Justice Department has enormous power, and keeping that power separated from partisan politics is a worthy principle. But there’s also a difference between “I don’t like this” and “the attorney general isn’t allowed to do this.” And that distinction got a little lost in the online outrage.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s own Hatch Act guidance explains that presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate can qualify for an exemption permitting political activity while on duty if they meet specific statutory conditions.

The attorney general is precisely the kind of Senate-confirmed official whose responsibilities involve the nationwide administration of federal law.

Even then, the exemption isn’t a blank check. Such officials still cannot use their official authority to interfere with an election, solicit political contributions or violate other Hatch Act restrictions. And when participating in political activity, a Cabinet secretary generally may not use his official title.

The Justice Department’s own guidance likewise says federal employees are governed by Hatch Act restrictions but recognizes that political activity is not universally forbidden. So if someone wants to argue Blanche crossed a particular legal line, show us the line and show us how he crossed it.

“Beyond inappropriate” is an opinion. A Hatch Act violation is a legal claim. They’re not interchangeable.

There was also something considerably more substantive happening Friday. Trump was using the appearance to trumpet newly released FBI statistics showing violent crime fell sharply in 2025. The New York Post reported violent crime fell 9.3%, while murder and non-negligent manslaughter dropped more than 18%.

Blanche used his appearance to deliver a warning concerning attacks on federal law enforcement.

“If anybody touches a federal law enforcement officer in any way inappropriate, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

That generated another round of outrage.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer accused Blanche of hypocrisy because Trump pardoned January 6 defendants, including people convicted in cases involving assaults on police.

But Blanche’s message Friday was pretty difficult to misunderstand: Don’t attack federal agents. That warning comes while immigration enforcement and federal officers have increasingly become political flashpoints around the country.

Blakeman, meanwhile, has deliberately positioned himself as the law-and-order alternative to Hochul.

The Nassau County executive has defended his county’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities and opposed Albany’s efforts to restrict local cooperation with ICE. The Post reported ahead of Trump’s visit that Nassau’s relationship with federal immigration enforcement had become a central point of conflict with the state.

Trump happily turned that contrast into campaign ammunition Friday. He attacked Hochul as “radical left,” touted Blakeman’s record in Nassau County and argued that Republicans could win New York by campaigning aggressively on crime, immigration and public safety.

And Blanche was standing right there with him.

DBS WIRE SOURCES:

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