{"id":32569,"date":"2026-08-08T13:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32569"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:49:10","slug":"senate-confirms-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32569","title":{"rendered":"Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/blanche_todd_07152026_AP26211556192292.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n        <iframe id=\"instaread_iframe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Audio Article\" style=\"display:block\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n    <\/p>\n<p><\/instaread-player><\/p>\n<p>The Senate early Saturday morning confirmed Todd Blanche as the next attorney general, with the nominee narrowly securing sufficient GOP backing after making a number of promises about how he would handle his tenure as the country\u2019s top law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n<p>The vote was 50-49.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Though confirmed along a party-line vote when he was nominated as deputy attorney general in March of last year, Blanche faltered in gaining GOP support to lead the Justice Department after a series of actions that earned pushback from skeptical Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Chief among them was Blanche\u2019s decision to sign off on a $1.776 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund expected to funnel money to Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants. The fund, which Blanche formally rescinded earlier this week, was created in the wake of an agreement to settle a $10 billion suit from President Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).<\/p>\n<p>Blanche was able to clinch confirmation with the reluctant backing of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6016630-bill-cassidy-todd-blanche-attorney-general-nomination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took to the Senate floor Friday morning<\/a> to announce and explain his much-anticipated decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche; it is between Mr. Blanch and another acting attorney general, who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But Blanche failed to get the support of Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who both cited concerns about the ability of President Trump\u2019s former personal attorney to exert independence as head of the Justice Department. Both also pointed out that the fund could\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6009131-senate-blanche-nomination-deal-loopholes\/\">easily be revived in court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case,\u201d Murkowski wrote Friday in announcing her decision not to support him.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>She blasted Blanche for a related memo that gave Trump, his adult children, and their businesses sweeping immunity for their past conduct, including outstanding audits that could yield significant tax bills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am also keenly aware that the Department\u2019s nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund\u2014which likely would have rewarded January 6 protesters\u2014is only off the table because this nomination is pending and the Senate has leverage. Once we vote, that will end, and there is no telling what the future holds,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Collins earlier this week said that while she believed \u201cMr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cMr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department\u2019s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,\u201d she said, noting his pledge to restrict abortion medication and another order giving Trump and his adult children\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/6005494-blanche-trump-immunity-memo-anti-weaponization-fund\/\">immunity from being investigated<\/a>\u00a0for their past actions, including failure to pay taxes.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy also blasted the arrangement despite his support for Blanche.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Blanche showed poor judgment in approving the anti-weaponization slush fund and exempting the president from IRS audits. No American should be unfairly targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Cassidy\u2019s eleventh-hour backing of Blanche avoided what could have been a significant delay in the confirmation. Without his vote, the chamber may have been forced to wait until the return of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose intentions on the attorney are unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche faced unusually steep resistance from Republicans on this path to securing the promotion.<\/p>\n<p>A vote to advance him out of the Senate Judiciary Committee had to be postponed when GOP Sens. Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) vowed to oppose him if he did not memorialize in writing his pledge that\u00a0the fund is \u201cnot moving forward. Period.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Blanche did so after days of haggling, but it does not prohibit Trump from going to court to seek to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6009131-senate-blanche-nomination-deal-loopholes\/\">revive the matter<\/a>. Nor does it kill the sweeping immunity order that gives Trump and his family broad immunity from any government review of their past conduct, including tax audits.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department has not yet asserted the rescission of the fund in the multitude of related court cases it faces, and Trump has appealed a ruling in his IRS case that found his lawsuit was collusive in nature.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche also faced questions from lawmakers over DOJ\u2019s efforts to investigate six Democratic lawmakers who filmed a video noting that military service members have the right to refuse any illegal orders.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Cassidy has said that issue was a top concern for him, though in his floor speech he suggested Blanche had agreed to abandon the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will note that I\u2019ve learned that some of the cases that have been publicly reported to be under investigation by the Department of Justice have been dismissed or are no longer being pursued. I am realistic that President Trump can be unrelenting on this, but this will be true no matter who the Attorney General is, and this is the rationale for having a Senate confirmed Attorney General with more leverage to push back,\u201d Cassidy said.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats, similarly to Murkowski and Collins, also tore into Blanche over his handling of a number of other issues, from his handling of the Epstein files to numerous cases brought against Trump foes.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Several Democrats also accused Blanche of lying under oath, including to Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who noted that the attorney told her in a hearing he had rescinded the order, yet the rescission he publicly released showed it was signed Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe testified that he had rescinded it. In questions for the record, I asked him, \u2018Give me the date of when you rescinded this order and this fund.\u2019 He did not answer the question with a date. He refused to end this fund in writing until he was forced into it in order to secure needed votes from my Republican colleagues,\u201d she said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) pointed to Blanche\u2019s previous role as Trump\u2019s personal attorney.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr8_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe should not confirm an attorney general who views his job as enriching the president of the United States\u2026.We should not confirm an attorney general who believes that the president has a right and a duty to go after his political enemies,\u201d Schiff said earlier this week as the Senate Judiciary Committee\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6007353-judiciary-committee-blanche-nomination-attorney-general\/\">weighed the nomination<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problem with confirming Todd Blanch is that he has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump. He just can\u2019t do it. He does not represent the American people now. He will never represent the American people. He will never do what\u2019s best for the American people. He will only do what\u2019s best for Donald Trump, and you cannot leave someone like that as the nation\u2019s number one law enforcement official.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats also raised the widespread firings carried out by the Justice Department, including of those who worked on Jan. 6 cases, as well as the demotions a number of other key attorneys.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr9_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Justice Connection, a DOJ alumni group, previously sent a letter signed by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5956374-blanche-nomination-faces-opposition\/\">1,200 former employees<\/a>\u00a0opposed to Blanche, a remarkable number in urging the Senate to reject his nomination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnlike most nominees who come before the Senate, Todd Blanche has spent four months as DOJ\u2019s top dog and a year as second-in-charge. He\u2019s used that time to shred DOJ\u2019s institutional norms, destroy important offices, revictimize sex crime survivors, eviscerate accountability for January 6, attack the career workforce. By serving as the president\u2019s sword and shield, he\u2019s unraveled the rule of law \u2013 leaving our rights, economic interests, safety, and democracy on shaky ground,\u201d Stacey Young, a former DOJ official and the group\u2019s executive director, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNearly 20,000 career employees have left the department, many of whom were fired or forced out for doing their jobs. This is a generational loss of institutional knowledge and expertise that will be impossible to replace. Today\u2019s vote is an affront to the dedicated public servants still there, as they struggle to uphold the law under a leader who doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr10_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate early Saturday morning confirmed Todd Blanche as the next attorney general, with the nominee narrowly securing sufficient GOP backing after making a number of promises about how he would handle his tenure as the country\u2019s top law enforcement officer. The vote was 50-49. Though confirmed along a party-line vote when he was nominated&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/blanche_todd_07152026_AP26211556192292.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}