Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general after tight Senate vote

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 8, 2026 14:26 IST

The US Senate early on Saturday confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general by a 50-49 vote, giving President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer formal control of the Justice Department. Blanche had already been leading the department in an acting capacity after Trump fired Pam Bondi in April.

The confirmation followed a bitter fight that highlighted concerns among Democrats and some Republicans about placing a close Trump ally at the head of a department that has traditionally stressed its independence from the White House. Blanche was confirmed by the narrowest of margins, with Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting against him.

Blanche’s path to confirmation was unusually difficult, largely because of Republican unease over a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Under pressure, Blanche promised in writing that the department would drop Trump’s proposed USD 1.8 billion compensation fund for the president’s allies, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He also agreed to scale back another part of the settlement that was designed to protect Trump and his family from IRS tax audits.

That assurance helped win over Republican senator Bill Cassidy, whose support proved decisive. Cassidy said no other nominee might be better placed to run the department under Trump and suggested Blanche’s past role as Trump’s criminal defence lawyer could help him push back against the president’s demands. “This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances,” Cassidy said.

Democrats strongly opposed the nomination. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said confirming Blanche would be a “serious mistake” and urged 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 remained central to the debate. After taking charge in an acting role, he moved quickly to advance the president’s priorities, including speeding up investigations into Trump’s perceived opponents and announcing the settlement that created the USD 1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and provided Trump and his family with immunity from tax audits. The settlement threatened to sink his nomination until he formally withdrew the fund in writing under pressure from Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. That agreement allowed the Senate Judiciary Committee to move his nomination forward earlier this week.

Even after that, some Republicans remained unconvinced. Murkowski said on Friday that she would join Collins in opposing Blanche, saying the country needs an attorney general “who will check the worst impulses of this administration.” On the other side, Republican Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley strongly backed Blanche, saying he had led the Justice Department with distinction and adding, “Mr. Blanche is the right choice.”

A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche came to wider public attention as a leading lawyer on Trump’s defence team, including in the hush money case in New York. He also represented Trump in the two federal criminal cases brought by the Biden administration’s Justice Department, which Blanche has cited as proof of what he calls the weaponisation of the criminal justice system against Trump. He joined the department last year as deputy attorney general under Bondi and handled day-to-day operations, while also becoming the public face of major and controversial issues such as the release of millions of investigative files linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats have accused Blanche of putting loyalty to Trump above all else, pointing to investigations targeting Trump opponents such as former FBI director James Comey and to a broader overhaul of the department. Under Bondi and Blanche, the department has lost thousands of employees through firings, resignations and voluntary departures. Supporters say his background as a federal prosecutor and the trust he built with Trump make him better able to explain the legal limits of White House demands, and Republicans have also highlighted his work on violent crime, illegal immigration, violent cartels and drug trafficking.

It is still unclear whether Blanche will be more successful than Bondi in carrying out Trump’s push for retribution. Soon after Blanche took over, the Justice Department moved to indict Comey over a social media photograph of seashells arranged as “86 47”, saying it amounted to a threat against the 47th president. Comey’s lawyers are seeking to have the case dismissed, accusing the department of misleading judges, filing documents with false statements and withholding important 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 past decade to undermine Trump, though it remains unclear whether that inquiry will lead to criminal charges. The Senate vote now leaves Blanche confirmed as attorney general after a bruising contest that turned on his closeness to Trump and on questions over how far the Justice Department may be used to serve the president’s agenda.

With PTI Inputs

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