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Blanche Confirmed Narrowly
The U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a 50-49 vote early Saturday, elevating President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer to permanently lead the Justice Department after he had served as acting attorney general since April.
“Blanche won confirmation in a 50-49 vote overnight”
The confirmation ended a standoff between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration over Blanche, with two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, joining all Democrats to oppose his nomination.
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After the vote, Blanche said he was "deeply honoured by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me".
Sen. Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote, and the BBC noted the decision was closely watched in Washington given the years of acrimony between the Louisiana Republican and Trump.
The BBC also tied the confirmation fight to concerns about Blanche’s handling of the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and his role in establishing Trump’s $1.8bn "anti-weaponisation" fund.
Schumer and GOP Split
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer condemned the confirmation, saying Senate Republicans had “handed Trump an excuse on a silver platter” to continue his “pervasive, breathtaking corruption” by confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general.
Schumer wrote on X that “Todd Blanche has no intention of stopping Trump’s corruption,” and The Guardian reported that Senate Democrats would continue to resist the Trump administration’s “assault on the rule of law and undermining of democratic values.”
In contrast, Sen. Bill Cassidy provided the decisive support after earlier doubts, and the BBC reported that Cassidy said, "This is not a referendum on President Trump, it is a decision regarding Mr Blanche, in very specific circumstances,".
The BBC also reported that Murkowski cited her lack of confidence in Blanche to "check the worst impulses of this administration," while Collins raised concerns about Blanche’s role in settling Trump’s $10bn lawsuit with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The Guardian further described the confirmation as occurring despite “intense criticism for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files,” and it said the Senate vote came as Republicans pushed through other nominations before a five-week recess.
What Comes Next
The confirmation capped a fight centered on the proposed $1.8bn “anti-weaponisation” fund, which the BBC said was planned to provide compensation to individuals who alleged government persecution but which critics including Murkowski feared would go to individuals prosecuted for participating in the 6 January attack on Congress in 2021.
“planned to provide compensation to individuals who alleged government persecution”
The BBC reported that Blanche eventually pledged to walk back the fund after blowback from Republican senators during his confirmation hearings, while it remained unclear whether the commitment is legally binding or whether Trump could later persuade Blanche to revive a similar scheme under another name.
The Guardian added that the Justice Department was required by bipartisan legislation to disclose all files related to Epstein by 19 December, with redactions only in extremely limited circumstances, and it said many were released after the congressionally mandated cutoff.
The Guardian also said the Senate vote came as GOP senators started their five-week recess after handing Trump a major win with Blanche’s confirmation, while Republicans managed to go on recess without meeting some of Trump’s demands, including passage of the Save America Act.
In a separate framing of the same confirmation, the BBC reported that Blanche was already deputy attorney general when he took up the interim leadership role in April, after Pam Bondi was fired, placing the next phase of his tenure under scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans.
