Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general after bruising fight
The Hill · C · trust 55/100
Comments: by Rebecca Beitsch - 08/08/26 4:34 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Rebecca Beitsch - 08/08/26 4:34 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING 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’s top law enforcement officer.
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.
Chief among them was Blanche’s 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 The fund, which Blanche formally rescinded earlier this week, was created in the wake of an agreement to settle a $10 billion suit from President Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service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).
Blanche was able to clinch confirmation with the reluctant backing of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who took to the Senate floor Friday morning to announce and explain his much-anticipated decision.
“The 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,” he said.
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’s former personal attorney to exert independence as head of the Justice Department. Both also pointed out that the fund could easily be revived in court .
“The 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,” Murkowski wrote Friday in announcing her decision not to support him.
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.
“I am also keenly aware that the Department’s nearly $2-billion dollar slush fund—which likely would have rewarded January 6 protesters—is 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,” she wrote.
Collins earlier this week said that while she believed “Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political.”
“Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation,” she said, noting his pledge to restrict abortion medication and another order giving Trump and his adult children immunity from being investigated for their past actions, including failure to pay taxes.
Cassidy also blasted the arrangement despite his support for Blanche.
“Mr. 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,” he said.
Cassidy’s 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.
Blanche faced unusually steep resistance from Republicans on this path to securing the promotion.
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 the fund is “not moving forward. Period.”
Blanche did so after days of haggling, but it does not prohibit Trump from going to court to seek to revive the matter . 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.
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.
Blanche also faced questions from lawmakers over DOJ’s efforts to investigate six Democratic lawmakers who filmed a video noting that military service members have the right to refuse any illegal orders.
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.
“I will note that I’ve 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,” Cassidy said.
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.
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.
“He testified that he had rescinded it. In questions…
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