Blanche’s rise shows Trump tightening control over the Justice Department

Todd Blanche faced Senate Judiciary Committee questioning in Washington on July 15 over whether he could serve as attorney general without becoming Donald Trump’s personal loyalist. The hearing came six weeks after Trump announced on June 4 that he would nominate his former personal lawyer for the post, a choice that intensified concerns that the Justice Department was being pulled closer to the president’s political agenda.

Senators from both parties focused on whether Blanche would preserve the department’s traditional independence. Blanche told lawmakers he was not a “yes man,” a line aimed at calming unease about his long role inside Trump’s orbit. He also confronted questions about the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and acknowledged that “mistakes were made,” underscoring how closely the hearing tracked not just his future authority but the department’s handling of politically explosive matters.

The fight over Blanche went beyond one nomination. In the weeks before the hearing, Senate Judiciary Democrats led by Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse sent letters demanding answers to dozens of outstanding oversight requests that they said the Justice Department had ignored. Their pressure reflected a broader argument that Blanche had already been deeply involved in major department decisions and should account for how those choices were made before he gained the top job.

That concern was echoed outside the Senate. More than 1,200 former Justice Department employees urged lawmakers not to confirm Blanche, warning that his leadership had contributed to a “culture of fear” inside an agency that is supposed to operate through professional judgment, not political loyalty. Critics also said the department under Blanche had taken politically charged actions aligned with Trump’s priorities, including what they described as “weaponization” work. American Oversight said newly obtained records detailed Blanche’s oversight of those efforts, and Justice Connection amplified appeals tied to his handling of department priorities.

The stakes are unusually high because the attorney general is meant to lead an independent law-enforcement department, not one that bends to the White House. Blanche’s path from Trump’s personal defense team to the nomination for attorney general has become a test of whether Senate scrutiny, internal DOJ norms and outside watchdog pressure can still restrain a president determined to tighten control over federal prosecutions.