Todd Blanche Confirmed as New Attorney General
Senate Republicans pulled Todd Blanche across the finish line on Saturday, confirming the acting attorney general to permanently lead the Department of Justice in a 50-49 vote that fell mostly along party lines.
A Narrow Path to Confirmation
Two GOP senators broke ranks to oppose the nomination, citing lingering concerns over the status of a controversial settlement fund and Blanche’s previous role as a personal defense attorney for former President Donald Trump. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska argued that the Department of Justice had become increasingly political.
Murkowski wrote in a post that she did not have confidence Blanche would “check the worst impulses of this administration.” Collins expressed similar doubts, noting that while she believes Blanche is a capable lawyer, the department’s current trajectory troubled her.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana announced his support on the floor on Friday, acknowledging what he called Blanche’s “poor judgment in approving the anti-weaponization slush fund and exempting the president from IRS audits.” Cassidy said he “slept on it overnight” and decided it was better to have a Senate-confirmed attorney general rather than an acting one.
Related: What Should Not Be Kept in Client Files
The Weaponization Fund and IRS Deal
The confirmation process hinged on a contentious settlement fund tied to Trump’s tax returns, which many critics feared would be used to pay rioters prosecuted for attacking Capitol Police on Jan. 6, 2021. The Justice Department announced last weekend that it had “rescinded” the $1.8 billion fund.
But Democrats argue the department’s written agreements with two on-the-fence GOP senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, are merely “decorative” and do not ensure the fund is permanently dead. Senate Judiciary ranking member Richard J. Durbin of Illinois said the documents are not signed by the parties of the settlement agreement and are therefore unenforceable.
“The parties could still sue to enforce the agreement, and the cop-beaters fund can easily be revived … 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,” Durbin said during the committee markup.
The funding issue was resolved late in the process, with Cornyn and Tillis agreeing to a deal that they claimed calmed their fears. However, the mechanism for enforcement remains a point of contention, with Tillis telling reporters he was more worried about the statutory authority that allows such funds to exist than the specific nomination.
Related: Staten Island Homeowners Fear for Their Safety
This institutional dynamic is notable because the DOJ is traditionally the most apolitical agency in the federal government, tasked with impartial law enforcement rather than executive management. When a department head becomes a nominee, the confirmation process inevitably shifts the agency’s focus toward internal politics and external optics rather than its core mission.
Cassidy noted that even critics admit Blanche knows the law and is a hands-on administrator. He cited Blanche’s instruction to U.S. attorneys to focus on violent crime, human and drug trafficking, and fraud in programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
Blanche has served as acting attorney general since the ouster of Pam Bondi in April. The vote came in the wee hours of Saturday morning, shortly before senators were set to leave for their summer recess.
