Todd Blanche confirmed as attorney general
Todd Blanche confirmed as U.S. Attorney General
Todd Blanche has officially been confirmed at the U.S. attorney general. The Senate confirmed Blanche in an early morning session on Saturday by a narrow margin on 50-49. Blanche has been leading the Department of Justice since the ousting of President Trump's first attorney general Pam Bondi. Mike Fahey, with Fahey communications weighs in.
Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, has been confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general.
Blanche, who’s been serving as acting attorney general since taking over from Pam Bondi in April, was confirmed in a narrow 50-49 Senate vote.
Todd Blanche confirmed
Big picture view:
With all Democrats opposing Blanche, his confirmation came down to a single vote in the Senate, after Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they’d vote against his nomination.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a frequent Trump critic, announced Friday that he’d support Blanche, securing the necessary votes to be confirmed.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice building on August 05, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Two other Republican senators – John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – also threatened to block the nomination, but they ended up backing Blanche after the Justice Department confirmed in writing that it wasn’t moving forward with a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes. Trump demanded the fund as part of a settlement to his lawsuit against the IRS.
RELATED: Blanche drops 'anti-weaponization' fund after GOP senators threaten AG bid
The other side:
Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently bar it.
Cassidy announces support for Blanche as AG
Sen. Bill Cassidy on Friday said he will vote "yes" on Todd Blanche's nomination for Attorney General, helping pave the way for Blanche to be confirmed before the Senate's August recess.
The order also doesn’t stop the administration from compensating Trump allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — through a previously established process that allows people to file claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by the government.
RELATED: Trump says he'll restore Anti-Weaponization Fund if GOP holdouts reject Blanche
The fund "can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general," said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.
Who is Todd Blanche?
The backstory:
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s defense team as he faced four indictments, arrived at the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to acting attorney general after Trump fired Bondi.
While Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post, he moved swiftly to accelerate investigations into Trump foes and indict former FBI Director James Comey, drawing condemnation from critics who say he has not shed his title as Trump’s personal lawyer.
The Source: This article includes comments from Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy, along with information from The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.