Attorney General Todd Blanche has offered to defend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if the House moves to impeach him. Rachel Maddow has another suggestion for the incoming Democratic majority: consider impeaching Blanche, too.

During an appearance Monday on *The Daily Show*, the MS NOW host told Jon Stewart that Democrats should act quickly when they take control of the House in January.

“I think they can impeach not only Pete Hegseth, but Todd Blanche at the Department of Justice,” Maddow said. She argued that impeachment could serve a purpose beyond public condemnation, saying that “in some cases it’s essentially to stop a crime wave in progress.”

Maddow had made a similar argument the previous night during an event with Chris Hayes at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium. There, she said Blanche should be impeached and emphasized that she was speaking not as a news anchor but as the author of a new book about the Justice Department.

Her book, *Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America’s Most Consequential Institution*, proposes reforms that include barring presidents’ former personal lawyers and campaign workers from serving at the department. Blanche left a partnership at Cadwalader to represent Donald Trump in his criminal cases before joining the administration.

The calls come as Democrats prepare to assume control of the House following the midterm elections. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has said Blanche “could possibly face impeachment hearings.” Rep. Thomas Massie, meanwhile, is expected to force a vote on Hegseth.

A House impeachment would not remove either official from office; conviction would require a separate Senate trial. No attorney general has been impeached, while Hegseth would become only the third Cabinet secretary impeached by the House.

Maddow pointed in particular to Blanche’s handling of matters involving Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein. As deputy attorney general, Blanche personally interviewed Maxwell in prison. Roughly a week later, she was transferred to a minimum-security camp in Texas, despite a Bureau of Prisons policy that ordinarily bars such placements for people convicted of sex offenses.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has sought records explaining the transfer since July 2025. Maddow described the circumstances as “kind of impeachment-level stuff.”

Blanche has also faced criticism over his comments about presidential authority to direct investigations and his handling of a fund established to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS. During his confirmation process, he agreed in writing to rescind the fund.

Since the midterms, Blanche has warned of potential criminal exposure for Democrats exercising oversight, said he was a lawyer for White House adviser Stephen Miller and offered to represent Hegseth in an impeachment proceeding. Whether House Democrats pursue a case against either Cabinet official remains to be seen.