WorldRepublican Sen. Thom Tillis, a key vote on the Senate's judiciary committee, said Thursday he would not vote to advance President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, unless he meets with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and their lawyers.Key Republican senator wants Blanche to meet with Epstein survivorsThomson Reuters · Posted: Jul 16, 2026 2:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Dani Bensky, who has alleged she was abused by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is shown making her opening statement Thursday at the Senate's judiciary committee confirmation hearings for attorney general nominee Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a key vote on the Senate's judiciary committee, said Thursday he would not vote to advance U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, unless Blanche agreed to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and their lawyers.Blanche likely cannot advance to a full Senate vote without Tillis's approval."I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee," Tillis said during the second day of Blanche's confirmation hearing to become the nation's top law enforcement officer. "I'm trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting yes."Dani Bensky testified on Thursday that a group of Epstein survivors had not yet heard from the Justice Department about a possible meeting."Crime victims deserve better from the nation's highest level of law enforcement officials," she said. "We deserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored."WATCH | Highlights from Blanche, Clayton nomination hearings Wednesday:Democrats grill Trump's picks for attorney general, intelligence chiefJuly 15|Duration 2:15Democrats grilled two of U.S. President Donald Trump's new cabinet picks. Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files, while potential National Intelligence Chief Jay Clayton refused to admit Trump lost the 2020 election.Blanche said Wednesday a deputy could meet with lawyers for Epstein survivors as soon as "today," but said he could not meet with them directly.Bensky also shared the pain Epstein survivors have felt as the release of files legally mandated by the Epstein Transparency Act led to widespread errors."Todd Blanche has been at the helm of the release of nude images of survivors, the outing of Jane Does, and the exposure of more than 100 victims' identifying information and documents describing horrific acts of abuse, including my own," she said, telling the panel not to confirm the nominee.Trump’s former attorney general admits to 'redaction errors' before facing questions about Epstein filesBensky has told U.S. media outlets that she was sexually abused by Epstein at his New York City townhouse beginning at the age of 17, periodically over the course of about a year. She told Reuters earlier this year that she met Epstein in 2004 after being recruited to give the financier a massage.Bensky, now a teacher, went public with her Epstein allegations in 2021. But she said it wasn’t until the Justice Department began releasing the Epstein files, with unredacted documents identifying her contact information, that she began receiving violent threats on social media from several men across the country.Blanche on Wednesday admitted "mistakes were made" in the release of the files and said ⁠the department was prepared to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct by anyone else associated with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. "If we ⁠learn today, if we learn next week, if we learn next month that there's an individual that we can investigate, indict and prosecute out of the Epstein files, you better believe we will," ⁠Blanche said Wednesday.Tillis, Cornyn key votesBlanche, nominated by Trump to succeed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general, faced a wide range of questions on Wednesday and Tillis is one of two key Republican senators threatening to derail his confirmation. The Republicans hold an 11-10 advantage on the committee, losing a member with the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina last weekend. Democrats on the committee have pledged to uniformly oppose Blanche, which means the acting attorney general cannot afford to lose even one Republican lawmaker.Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled Blanche on the creation of a $1.8 billion US "anti-weaponization" fund and resolution that gave Trump and his associates broad tax-audit immunity. Both of those deals emerged from a settlement agreement over a $10 billion US lawsuit Trump brought against the IRS. The fund and the tax immunity resolution drew bipartisan fury, as lawmakers argued both were an effort to enrich Trump and his allies. In the wake of the backlash, Blanche told lawmakers the fund was dead, but he has since declined to kill the fund in writing. WATCH | An overview of the fund that even infuriated some Republicans:Trump's new $1.776B Anti-Weaponization Fund is a wild ride | About ThatMay 20|Duration 12:44The Trump administration set up a roughly $1.8 billion US fund to support Americans facing domestic political persecution — but there are questions about accountability and who may benefit most from the cash. Andrew Chang explains how the Anti-Weaponization Fund originates with U.S. President Donald Trump's own lawsuit, and the concerns about a conflict of interest.