1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing as your constituent to urge Congress to use its Article I appropriations and oversight authority to impose binding, enforceable guardrails on Attorney General Todd Blanche's Department of Justice. Since Blanche's confirmation, DOJ actions have raised serious concerns about congressional authority, public safety, and prosecutorial independence: - Sitting on Appropriated Police Funding: DOJ has yet to distribute $44 million Congress included in the FY26 spending bill for the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program, which supports more than 11,200 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide in tracking cartels and violent crime. A bipartisan group of House members has already demanded the funds be released. - Rejecting Institutional Independence: Asked on national television whether DOJ would maintain independence from the White House, Blanche said: "No, I'm not going to pledge that." An Attorney General unwilling to commit to arm's-length distance from the Executive cannot be trusted with unchecked prosecutorial discretion. - Stonewalling State Law Enforcement on Epstein Records: New Mexico had to sue Blanche's DOJ in federal court to obtain unredacted Epstein-related investigative files needed for its criminal probe into abuse at the Zorro Ranch property, after DOJ told Congress and the public it was cooperating when the state says it was not. - Continuing a Weakened Counterterrorism Posture: A July 2026 Senate Homeland Security Committee report found DOJ's National Security Division, which includes its counterterrorism and intelligence sections, has lost nearly 38% of its personnel under this administration, and that DOJ quietly removed public data tracking domestic extremism threats from its website. Blanche's DOJ has taken no public steps to reverse either trend. Congress must not sit idle while the nation's chief law enforcement officer withholds funds Congress appropriated, refuses independence from the White House, and blocks state investigations into child sex trafficking. I urge you to take three immediate legislative actions: 1. Pass the BLANCHE Act of 2026 (H.R. 9210), which would bar the President from receiving damages payments or collusive settlements from the United States and require independent court review of any such resolution. 2. Attach binding appropriations riders barring DOJ funds from being used to withhold congressionally appropriated local police grants or to retaliate against whistleblowers. 3. Co-sponsor the Epstein Files Transparency Act II (H.R. 9694 / S. 5005) to give state prosecutors enforceable access to unredacted investigative files and give survivors standing to challenge DOJ stonewalling in court. An Attorney General who spent years representing the President personally shouldn't get to decide, unilaterally, where the President's accountability ends. Congress has the tools to draw that line: pass the BLANCHE Act, enact H.R. 9694/S. 5005, and use binding appropriations riders to rein in this Department of Justice. I expect you to use them.