Trump nominates Todd Blanche as attorney general, setting up Senate fight

Published 8 June 2026 · politics

Blanche, who currently serves as acting attorney general, has faced controversy over his handling of the Epstein files and his statements about January 6. President

Blanche, who currently serves as acting attorney general, has faced controversy over his handling of the Epstein files and his statements about January 6. President Donald Trump has nominated Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, to officially take over the role of attorney general, the top law enforcement position in the United States. Currently, Blanche serves as attorney general in an interim capacity. But the Federal Vacancies Reform Act generally caps such temporary leaders at 210 days. As of Monday, he has served in the role for roughly 67 days, since the April 2 firing of his predecessor, Pam Bondi. Naming a nominee, however, could allow Trump to legally extend the interim period beyond 210 days. Blanche’s nomination sets him up for what is expected to be a heated Senate confirmation hearing. But it will not be Blanche’s first time enduring a Senate grilling. Last year, on March 5, he was successfully confirmed as deputy attorney general in a party-line vote of 52 to 46, with all the Senate’s Democrats in opposition. Republicans hold a narrow 53-seat majority in the 100-person chamber. Still, the past year has raised new questions about Blanche’s ability to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ), a key law enforcement body in charge of investigations, prosecutions and the federal prison system, among other duties. While Senate confirmations only require a simple majority, there are concerns that Blanche’s tenure so far may have divided Republicans in the chamber. From private practice to government Blanche first became a part of Trump’s inner circle in 2023, when Trump faced a series of four criminal indictments, two on the state level and two federal.

One of those indictments pertained to an alleged hush-money agreement Trump struck with former adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors argued he had attempted to conceal the hush-money payments through illegal means, in an attempt to protect his successful 2016 presidential bid. Trump was ultimately found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents. It was the first time in history that a US president had been convicted of a crime, though Trump did not face a fine or a custodial sentence. A judge handed down an “unconditional discharge”, which waives any penalty beyond the conviction. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has sought to have the conviction overturned. Blanche was part of Trump’s defence team during the trial, and he remained in Trump’s orbit as the Republican leader launched his 2024 campaign for re-election. He was one of a handful of former personal lawyers for Trump who ultimately joined his second administration, including Emil Bove, now an appeals court judge, and Lindsey Halligan, who served briefly as an interim US attorney. But since Trump began his second term in January 2025, there have been concerns that the Justice Department has lost its prosecutorial independence. The department has publicly followed a longstanding norm barring political interests from guiding its investigations and indictments. Blanche has been central to some of those concerns. In his role as deputy attorney general, Blanche waded into some of the Justice Department’s most controversial moments of the past year. For instance, in July he held an in-person interview with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell to ask her about the investigation of her former partner, the late Jeffrey Epstein, whose case had received renewed public scrutiny under Trump.