The Senate voted early Saturday to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general in a largely party-line decision that followed weeks of contentious debate about his independence from President Donald Trump. The final tally was 50-49, with only two Republicans—Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska—joining Democrats in opposing the nomination.
The roll call came after 4 a.m., as a late-night Senate session stretched into the early hours before a scheduled recess. Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer and became acting attorney general in April, expressed gratitude on social media, saying he was “deeply honored” by the president’s trust and thanking the Senate for completing the confirmation process.
Opponents had raised several concerns about Blanche’s ability to run a Justice Department that would resist political pressure. Central among those concerns was his role in negotiating provisions tied to a settlement between private-citizen Donald Trump and the federal government that created an “anti-weaponization” fund. That fund, originally valued at $1.8 billion, could have been used to pay allies who claimed government overreach, including some people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Blanche also signed off on a component of the agreement that would shield Trump, his family and his businesses from tax audits.
A group of Republican senators who initially withheld support—Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina—ultimately voted to back Blanche after receiving assurances from the nominee. Among those assurances was an order rescinding the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, though critics noted a legal loophole could still allow the fund to be revived.
Lawmakers from both parties said Blanche’s prior work for Trump made them uneasy. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., warned during the Judiciary Committee’s proceedings that Blanche had not shed his role as Trump’s criminal defense lawyer and argued that someone who remained aligned with the president could not be trusted as the country’s top law enforcement official.
Blanche became acting attorney general after Trump ousted his predecessor, Pam Bondi, citing the former attorney general’s perceived unwillingness to pursue cases against the president’s political enemies. After assuming the acting role, Blanche told reporters Americans should be “happy” with Trump’s involvement in Justice Department operations, remarks that reinforced concerns about his independence.
In the weeks after Bondi’s dismissal, the department under Blanche brought unusual actions that highlighted the shift in tone, including the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over an Instagram post that prosecutors said constituted a threat tied to a seashell photo arranged to suggest the number “8647.” Critics saw such moves as evidence that the department might be used in politically motivated ways.
Legal scholars and former prosecutors warned that confirmation could embolden the administration to pursue retributive uses of the Justice Department. Former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson told reporters that the bigger worry was Blanche becoming more aggressive in executing a campaign to use the DOJ against political opponents, adding that there appeared to be few “guardrails.”
Observers also noted a pattern in Trump’s first term: attorneys general who clashed with the president or resisted his requests left under pressure. Jeff Sessions resigned after refusing to recuse himself from Russia-related matters in a way that satisfied Trump’s expectations, and William Barr departed following disputes over the department’s role in challenges to the 2020 election.
Blanche’s confirmation closes one chapter of uncertainty about leadership at the Justice Department, but it leaves unresolved questions about how aggressively the department will pursue cases with political overtones and whether internal safeguards will prevent partisan interference.