WASHINGTON — In a pre-dawn vote Saturday, the Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general, formally placing President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer at the helm of a Justice Department that Trump has repeatedly signaled he wants aligned with his political priorities.
The GOP-controlled Senate approved Blanche 50-49, making him the second confirmed attorney general since Trump’s return to the White House last year. Trump has openly called for the federal law enforcement agency to scrutinize his political opponents, and while Blanche has already been running the department on an acting basis, Senate confirmation gives him a stronger hand to advance the administration’s Justice Department agenda.
Reacting on social media, Blanche said he was “deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me” and thanked senators for staying late into the night to complete his confirmation.
The final vote capped a bruising confirmation battle that underscored bipartisan unease over elevating one of Trump’s closest legal allies to lead an institution long defined by its stated independence from direct White House influence.
Blanche secured confirmation by the slimmest possible margin, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining every Democrat in voting against him.
His road to confirmation became especially difficult after Republicans raised objections to a contentious settlement tied to Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
Facing mounting pressure, Blanche issued a written public pledge that the Justice Department would drop Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for the president’s supporters, including people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He also promised to scale back another portion of the agreement that would have limited IRS tax audits of Trump and members of his family.
Those assurances proved sufficient for Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, whose backing became decisive when he endorsed Blanche on Friday morning. Cassidy argued that few, if any, other nominees could manage the department more effectively under Trump and suggested Blanche’s experience as the president’s former criminal defense attorney might actually help him resist improper pressure from the White House.
“This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances,” said Cassidy, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said confirming Blanche would be a “serious mistake.” He begged his colleagues not to be on the “wrong side” of history.
“If there is ever a moment in history when we need an Attorney General above reproach, who is clearly dedicated to ending corruption, even at the highest level of our government, it’s right now,” Durbin said.
Blanche’s loyalty to Trump left senators skeptical
The vote capped off a bruising confirmation fight, with Blanche’s loyalty to Trump at the center of the stalemate.
Blanche was elevated to the top Justice Department post in an acting capacity after Trump fired Pam Bondi in April. Blanche moved swiftly to advance the president’s interests, accelerating investigations into Trump’s perceived foes and announcing the settlement that created the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate people who feel mistreated by the criminal justice system and provided Trump and family members with immunity from tax audits.
The controversial settlement threatened to torpedo Blanche’s nomination until he formally rescinded the fund in writing under pressure from Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The deal reached between the senators and the department unlocked a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which advanced Blanche’s nomination earlier this week
Even after the deal, Blanche faced opposition from some Republican senators concerned with the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the tax audit immunity deal.
Murkowski announced early Friday that she would join Collins in opposing Blanche’s nomination, saying the country needs an attorney general “who will check the worst impulses of this administration.”
Former prosecutor rises as Trump’s defender
A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche rose to public prominence as a lead attorney on Trump’s defense team, including during the Republican’s hush money trial in New York. He also defended Trump against criminal charges in the two federal cases brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice – an experience Blanche has said provided him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.
Blanche entered the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general under Bondi, overseeing the agency’s day-to-day operations and serving as the public face for high-profile and controversial matters, like the release of millions of investigative files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Democrats have accused Blanche of prioritizing his loyalty to Trump above all else through investigations against Trump foes such as former FBI Director James Comey and a radical reshaping of the department. Under Bondi and Blanche’s leadership, the department has lost thousands of employees through firings, resignations or voluntary departures.
Blanche’s supporters say his experience as a federal prosecutor and the trust he earned from Trump in the courtroom make him better equipped than Bondi to explain to the White House the legal constraints of its demands. Republicans have also touted his efforts to bring down violent crime, tackle illegal immigration and combat violent cartels and drug trafficking.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, gave a full-throated endorsement of Blanche ahead of voting, saying he’s led the Justice Department with distinction. “Mr. Blanche is the right choice,” he said.
But it remains unclear whether Blanche will fare any better in delivering on Trump’s desire for retribution than Bondi, whom Trump fired amid resistance from judges, grand jurors and the department’s own workforce as prosecutors sought to establish criminal conduct by one Trump foe after another.
Shortly after Blanche took the top post, the Justice Department moved to indict Comey on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of “86 47.” Comey’s lawyers are pressing to have the case dismissed, accusing the department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts.
Blanche has also appointed Joseph diGenova, a former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine Trump. But it remains uncertain whether that probe will result in any criminal charges.
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Associated Press writers Bill Barrow, Kevin Freking and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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