Senate Narrowly Confirms Former Trump Lawyer as U.S. Attorney General

Todd Blanche, who served as personal attorney to U.S. President Donald Trump, has been confirmed by the Senate to take the top law enforcement post in the United States.

His nomination passed by the narrowest of margins, with 50 votes in favor and 49 against. Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in voting against his confirmation.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy’s vote in favor proved decisive. His position had attracted particular attention because of his previously strained relationship with Trump.

Before the vote, Cassidy said Blanche was the best candidate proposed by the president for the position.

“This is not a referendum on President Trump; it is a decision concerning Mr. Blanche,” Cassidy said. He added that, after weighing all the circumstances, he had decided to support the confirmation.

Cassidy has clashed with Trump before. In 2021, during the president’s second impeachment trial, he voted to convict Trump over his role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Following the Senate vote, Blanche said he felt “deeply honored” by the trust President Trump had placed in him.

His nomination prompted opposition and debate, including within the Republican Party. Several senators expressed reservations about his handling of the release of documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his involvement in establishing a $1.8 billion fund linked to Trump.

Under the plan, the fund would compensate people who claimed they had been persecuted by the government. Critics, including Murkowski, warned that the money could be awarded to individuals prosecuted for participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

During the confirmation hearings, following objections from Republican senators, Blanche pledged that the fund would be withdrawn. However, it remains unclear whether that commitment is legally binding or whether a similar mechanism could later be revived in another form.

Murkowski said she did not trust Blanche to “rein in the worst impulses of this administration.” She also highlighted concerns about the politicization of the Justice Department.

Susan Collins also raised questions about the role Blanche had played in resolving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). However, she said that she ultimately trusted Blanche to provide the president with candid legal advice.

Democrats strongly opposed the nomination. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Blanche of helping advance Trump’s interests and warned that his confirmation could deepen the politicization of the Justice Department.

Republicans, meanwhile, welcomed the result. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Blanche had demonstrated “extraordinary patience, compassion and perseverance” during the nomination process, adding that his qualifications were beyond question.

Before taking temporary charge of the Justice Department in April, following Pam Bondi’s departure, Blanche had served as deputy attorney general.

He was also Trump’s lead attorney in the 2024 criminal case involving hush-money payments.