Senate votes to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general

Senate Votes to Confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General

Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing for attorney general in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

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The Senate voted early Saturday morning to confirm Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general by a 50-49 margin. All Democrats joined Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in opposition. Blanche, who had served as deputy attorney general and previously as President Trump's personal lawyer, will lead the department of more than 100,000 employees.

The vote followed a procedural step on Friday when Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana announced his support. With Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky absent and Murkowski opposed, Cassidy's position provided the margin needed for confirmation. Cassidy, who lost his party's nomination to a challenger backed by the president, cited concerns about Blanche's prior decisions on IRS audit exemptions for the president and about lawsuits filed against individuals viewed as political opponents. He stated that his vote was not an assessment of the president.

"Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this," Cassidy said. "But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche."

Blanche's nomination had encountered objections from members of both parties regarding the department's $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. The fund originated in a May 18, 2026, Department of Justice announcement tied to the settlement in Trump v. IRS, a case stemming from the unauthorized disclosure of the president's tax returns. Its stated purpose was to provide compensation to individuals who claimed federal agencies had taken adverse actions against them. Blanche initially stated that the fund would not proceed amid legal challenges. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both retiring from Congress, requested written confirmation that the fund would not be implemented and delayed the Judiciary Committee vote until that assurance was provided. On Aug. 2, Blanche submitted a written statement rescinding the order that had established the fund and declaring it without force or effect.

Cornyn noted Blanche's cooperation with the request and emphasized the need for a permanent department head following the departure of former Attorney General Pam Bondi. "President Trump needs someone in this role, as well with a strong legal mind, but who also is close enough to him to give him confidential legal advice to tell him hard truths," Cornyn said. "I would advise Mr. Blanche not to be afraid to capitalize on that earned trust when necessary for the good of the country."

A second Aug. 2 statement from the Justice Department addressed the scope of tax audit protections included in the same IRS settlement. Those protections, which had covered the president, his family members, and associated companies from audits or enforcement actions on prior returns, were clarified as applying only retroactively and limited to Trump, his two sons, and the Trump Organization. Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers questioned whether the statements would bind future proceedings, noting that they lacked signatures from all parties to the original settlement, including the president.

"These assurances are not worth the paper they're written on," Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center at NYU Law, told NPR's Ryan Lucas. "They don't pull back on the attempts to give the president and his affiliates unauthorized immunity from tax audits. And they don't do anything new to stop the president from trying to bring back the fund."

President Trump stated earlier in the week that the fund would have been "very fair" and could have provided "some solace" to individuals prosecuted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol events. "I view that fund as a positive, and a lot of Republicans do too," he told reporters.

Blanche was hired by Trump in 2023 to represent him in criminal cases involving hush money payments, the handling of classified documents, and efforts related to the 2020 election results. After Trump's return to the White House, Blanche was nominated as deputy attorney general and later served in an acting capacity as attorney general.

Justice Department veterans, legal analysts, and some members of Congress raised questions about Blanche's prior role and his approach to department operations. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California told NPR's Steve Inskeep that Blanche "claims he was Donald Trump's personal attorney but is continuing to act as if he's still Donald Trump's personal attorney. The American people deserve better."

Sen. Tillis and others had criticized Blanche's handling of matters involving Jeffrey Epstein and called for meetings with Epstein survivors. Blanche met with survivors for the first time last month. Following the meeting, some participants urged senators to oppose the nomination. Survivor Annie Farmer stated in a July 16 release that she "found him abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal to survivors."

Federal courts have issued orders in several matters involving the department during this period, and judges have noted instances in which representations made by department attorneys required additional verification. The department has maintained that its positions comply with applicable law and has argued that certain judicial directives exceed statutory authority. Recent cases have included the dismissal of vandalism charges against a former Olympic canoeist and others connected to an incident at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

With assistance from NPR's Ryan Lucas and Barbara Sprunt.