WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Todd Blanche vowed Sunday to actively defend President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration if the incoming Democrat Congress chooses to "come after" them.
The statement comes after Democratic Representative Robert Garcia, who is expected to become chair of the House Oversight Committee following Republicans' crushing defeat in the midterm election, this week called on Trump's allies to "lawyer up."
Trump for his part, on Saturday, ordered the Justice Department to investigate his Democratic opponents, calling them "extortionists."
"My job as the attorney general is...to defend the administration. We do that in court in all sorts of ways," Blanche, who used to serve as Trump's personal lawyer, said on CNN.
Blanche was particularly critical of the outraged Democrat response to Trump appointing Stephen Miller, architect of the president's hardline border policy, as his new chief of staff.
"If they try to come after Stephen Miller...of course the Department of Justice will be there to defend him," he said.
Speaking on CNN shortly after Blanche, Garcia stressed that Congress was responsible for oversight of the executive and accused the attorney general of being singularly focused on protecting the president and his administration.
Working to "protect Donald Trump's cabinet and administration officials" is not "his job, I want to remind him."
Asked if Garcia would stick to this course even if he was being investigated by the Justice Department, the lawmaker was defiant.
"They can come after us however they want. We're not going to be intimidated."