Trump Nominates Todd Blanche as Attorney General, Faces Senate Fight Over DOJ $1.8 Billion Fund

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, sending the formal nomination to the Senate to succeed Pam Bondi, who was fired in April.

Blanche has been acting in the role for more than two months after Trump dismissed Bondi, and the nomination tees up a confirmation process amid controversy over the Justice Department’s handling of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund tied to a settlement involving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

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Critics have focused on the fund’s design to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the Justice Department during the Biden administration, with CNBC reporting that the $1.8 billion fund was designed to compensate people who could include those convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

In a hearing on June 2, Blanche told a House subcommittee that the Justice Department had permanently abandoned plans for the fund, but he refused to put that promise in writing, raising concerns that the Justice Department could seek to revive the fund in the future.

At the same hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., pressed Blanche on whether it was a conflict of interest that the Save America PAC paid him nearly $10 million between March of 2024 and December of 2024 to serve as President Trump’s personal defense attorney.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley indicated he will support Blanche and move quickly, saying in a statement, “Blanche is well-qualified and has shown his dedication to restoring law and order across our country.”

But Sen. John Cornyn told CNN he plans to ask Blanche questions about the “anti-weaponization” fund, saying, “I have a lot of questions, including that,” when asked if he wanted to hear more specifically about Blanche’s role in the fund.

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Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana signaled he still has major issues with Blanche, telling CNN, “Of course, that’s concerning,” after being asked about Trump’s remarks reiterating support for the fund despite Blanche’s insistence that the fund is dead.

CNN also reported that Blanche’s nomination comes amid pushback over the proposed $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate people who say they were wrongly prosecuted by the government, and that the Justice Department told two federal judges the plan is dead while several lawsuits remain ongoing.

In a separate statement Monday, Sen. Dick Durbin said, “Donald Trump has been engaged in the most corrupt enterprise in the history of the Presidency. Todd Blanche apparently has not noticed.”

Beyond the fund, Blanche’s nomination faces questions about how the Justice Department handled the Epstein files and his interview with Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, with CNN reporting that Bondi said, “He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files.”

CNN reported that DOJ has released approximately 3 million files compelled by Congress, while Bondi was pushed to explain why another 3 million still have not been released.

The Hill reported that Blanche approved the creation of a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund after settling a lawsuit with Trump that sought $10 billion from the IRS over the leaking of his tax records, and that Blanche said the DOJ would “not be moving forward” with the fund during a congressional appearance Tuesday.

The Hill also described a confirmation contrast, noting that Blanche “handily won confirmation when he was nominated to his prior post, passing through the Senate with a 52-46 party-line vote,” while saying the new nomination heads to a GOP furious over the fund.

In the same reporting, The Hill quoted Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying, “This is an environment where nothing’s a safe or sure bet these days,” as Democrats signaled opposition and the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to review Blanche’s nomination.