Senate narrowly confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general

The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a 50-49 vote early Saturday, putting Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer in charge of the Justice Department. Blanche, who had already been serving as acting attorney general, now takes over an office that decides federal prosecutions, supervises investigations, enforces civil rights laws and manages the department’s relationship with the White House.

The narrow margin capped weeks of uncertainty inside the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the floor. Committee action was delayed after disagreements involving Republican senators Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn, who had raised concerns tied to a Trump-IRS settlement and other issues. Blanche ultimately won enough GOP support after making promises about how he would handle the job, and the committee was expected to vote on his nomination Aug. 4 before advancing it to the full Senate. Congress.gov lists the nomination as PN12-5 in the 119th Congress.

The confirmation fight centered less on Blanche’s résumé than on what his leadership would mean for the department’s independence under Trump. Supporters saw a trusted Trump loyalist who could carry out the president’s priorities. Critics saw a former defense lawyer stepping into a post that is supposed to keep a degree of distance from the president it serves, especially when it comes to politically sensitive investigations and prosecutions.

That concern drew formal pushback. In a July 13 letter, the New York City Bar Association urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin to reject Blanche’s nomination. Senate Judiciary Democrats also pressed Blanche to answer outstanding oversight requests that the Justice Department had ignored, a sign that lawmakers were already testing how aggressively he would respond to congressional scrutiny once confirmed.

Blanche’s elevation now gives Trump a Justice Department chief who entered the role after a confirmation battle shaped by objections over independence, settlement decisions and the department’s future direction. The result leaves Blanche with the authority to decide how the department handles cases that can affect the administration’s political standing, from enforcement priorities to the pace and scope of investigations.