In a letter to Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, multiple Jeffrey Epstein survivors said Blanche’s handling of the Epstein case as acting attorney general was characterized by “misstep after misstep,” according to the Guardian. The survivors said Blanche allowed the disclosure of their names, photos and identifying information as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act but omitted the names of accused abusers and enablers.

The survivors noted that while more than 1,000 teenage girls and women were abused, no person other than Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell has faced charges, the Guardian reported. They described a recent meeting with Blanche at Tillis’ urging as “an hour of deflection, interruption and gaslighting.”

Bryan Sullivan, a partner with Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, said based on Blanche’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that confirmation would mean “more suppression and no active investigations” into Epstein’s trafficking. “I think it’s because that’s what Trump wants. He wants this to go away,” Sullivan said, adding that he believed that was “one of the reasons he fired former attorney general Pam Bondi, because she didn’t make it go away.”

Ron Kuby, a defense lawyer focused on civil rights, said a Blanche confirmation “means that no other perpetrators will be held criminally liable for their misconduct,” a continuation of what he described as the pattern under both the Biden and previous Trump administrations. “All the millionaires and billionaires and hangers-on and others in Epstein’s orbit who, you know, enabled him have not been brought to justice,” Kuby said. “And they’re not going to be.”

Carl Tobias, the Williams chair in law at the University of Richmond School of Law, said that even if the Senate does not confirm Blanche, he could continue serving as acting attorney general for the remainder of Trump’s term. “He’ll have more power, of course, if he’s formally confirmed by the Senate … but he’ll have plenty of power even if he’s not,” Tobias said. “So I can’t be very optimistic about what he might do — if anything — about the Epstein files, or to give much comfort to the survivors.”

Sullivan said survivors could pursue legal avenues such as filing Freedom of Information Act requests and subsequent lawsuits, but cautioned that “all of it takes time” and that courts are “grossly underfunded and understaffed.” Kuby said litigation against federal authorities over their handling of the Epstein investigation is “exceptionally difficult to win,” explaining that “there’s no generalized duty to protect specific individuals outside of a special relationship with the victims.” Tobias described the prospects of winning such litigation as “difficult.”

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “Todd Blanche has done an excellent job as acting attorney general and will continue doing so as attorney general.”

A Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement that Blanche, senior DOJ officials, FBI agents and victims services representatives “met with Epstein victims last week and had a productive, initial discussion.” The spokesperson said Blanche “answered questions and walked through what is needed for investigations to proceed.” The statement said that while “some victims said that they had not reached out to the FBI under this administration, he encouraged victims to meet with FBI investigators as the next step, and attendees spoke with agents after the meeting about scheduling interviews.” The department said it is “determined to bring justice for all victims of human trafficking and sex crimes.”

Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, who co-founded the survivors advocacy organization Lift Our Voices, expressed cautious optimism. Carlson, who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, said she was disappointed in Republicans poised to let Blanche’s nomination go through but noted that midterm elections are approaching. “You never know who you might get, first of all, to be on your side,” she said. “So you never judge it before you actually try.”

Roginsky described a possible Blanche confirmation as “a slap in the face to anybody who’s ever fought … a system that is already rigged very much against survivors,” but said the movement has made progress. “We’ve seen some setbacks, but ultimately the advances will always outweigh the setbacks,” she said.

Neither Tillis nor Cornyn responded to requests for comment, the Guardian reported.