Trump Turns Todd Blanche into Permanent U.S. Attorney General
In a swift move that has been hailed by supporters and critiqued by opponents, former President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve permanently as the head of the Department of Justice. If the Senate confirms, Blanche, who has been chairing the DOJ on an interim basis since early April, will become the senior law‑enforcement official in Washington.
Blanche is a close ally of Trump and has served as the former president’s personal attorney. He defended the ex‑president in high‑profile cases tied to the administration’s alleged attempts to tamper with the 2020 election and in the federal prosecution over the handling of classified documents. While those prosecutions were eventually dropped because DOJ policy normally protects sitting presidents from criminal prosecution, the controversies still reverberate within political circles.
The decision comes amid a series of turbulent moments for the DOJ. Blanche played a key role in the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sexual offenses, and he was involved in interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate. Earlier this week, he also pushed for an “anti‑weaponisation fund” intended to provide roughly $1.8 billion to people who felt harmed by government overreach. The plan was subsequently halted by a federal judge citing the need for a legal challenge, and Blanche has now declared that the fund will no longer move forward.
He has been a significant presence at the DOJ in the last decade, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, and a stint in private practice with prominent law firms. The Senate confirmation process is expected to proceed quickly, as indicated in a video posted by White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino that Trump would nominate Blanche “tomorrow.”
Blanche’s upcoming official appointment will cement his influence over national policy, a development that promises to shape future legal responses, especially in the context of Trump’s continuing political presence in the United States.
