US Senate confirms former Trump lawyer Todd Blanche as Attorney General
The US Senate confirmed Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, as US Attorney General on Saturday. Republicans, who hold a slender majority in the Senate, overcame Democratic concerns that the Department of Justice could be politicised by a vote of 50 to 49. Before entering government, Blanche represented Trump in several criminal cases and had been serving as acting attorney general since April following the departure of former attorney general Pam Bondi. Trump, who has sought to increase his control over traditionally independent federal institutions, had described Blanche as a "star". Democrats opposed the nomination from the outset, accusing Trump of turning the Department of Justice into a political tool. Dick Durbin, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that the attorney general is supposed to be the people's lawyer, adding that Blanche continues to act like the president's personal lawyer and has turned the department into a law firm for "one client, the president". Blanche's confirmation was not certain until the final days, as the White House worked to secure the support of a few hesitant Republicans. A major point of contention was a proposal to create a $1.8 billion fund for individuals Trump considers victims of politically motivated prosecutions, a group that could have included some convicts from the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, in which Trump supporters tried to block the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Another issue was a proposal to protect Trump from tax audits. Blanche ultimately assuaged Republican opposition by issuing a written directive over the weekend, scrapping the proposal to create an "anti-politicisation fund" and stating that an agreement shielding Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization from tax audits would apply only to past tax years and not future filings. Blanche has since faced criticism over his role in what Democrats describe as Trump's "retribution" campaign against his opponents. Victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and former close friend of Trump, have also criticised his handling of the release of investigative files relating to him. Before joining the Justice Department, Blanche was Trump's lawyer in the New York trial concerning alleged hush-money payments to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels. He was also on Trump's legal defence team in two federal cases led by Special Counsel Jack Smith concerning the mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Both cases were dismissed following Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.