Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump, was confirmed as United States attorney general in a Senate vote of 50‑49, giving the Justice Department a Trump‑aligned head and raising concerns about the department’s independence.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy cast the decisive vote, saying Blanche was the best option the president could offer, while Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski opposed him. Blanche had been serving as acting attorney general since April after President Trump dismissed Pam Bondi. Some GOP senators flagged his handling of Jeffrey Epstein documents and the $1.8 billion anti‑weaponization fund.
The confirmation places a Trump ally at the helm of the nation’s top law‑enforcement agency, intensifying scrutiny over potential politicisation of investigations and the department’s ability to act independently from the White House. It also revives debate over the legality of the anti‑weaponization payments and whether the pledged rollback is enforceable, a point watched by compliance and litigation teams.
Senators Collins and Murkowski, the only Republicans to vote against Blanche, cited lack of confidence that he can curb the administration’s “worst impulses” and warned the anti‑weaponization fund could benefit individuals linked to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, leaving the legal enforceability of his pledge to abandon the scheme unresolved.