The US Senate has narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as President Donald Trump’s attorney general, ending weeks of uncertainty over his nomination amid concerns about his independence and role in controversial administration policies.
Blanche was confirmed by 50 votes to 49 on Saturday, with Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining Democrats in opposing his appointment. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy provided the decisive vote after concluding that Blanche was the strongest candidate Trump was likely to nominate.
The vote followed a weeks-long standoff between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration over Blanche, who has served as acting attorney general since April and previously held the number-two position at the Justice Department.
Several Republican senators had questioned Blanche’s handling of the release of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his involvement in a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and a related tax-immunity agreement involving Trump, his sons and their family business.
Blanche sought to address those concerns through a series of meetings with senators on Capitol Hill, ultimately agreeing in writing to narrow the tax-immunity arrangement and end payments associated with the “weaponization” programme.
Critics had described the programme as a potential vehicle for directing government funds towards Trump allies, including people involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The tax-immunity agreement and the fund emerged from Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
However, questions remain over whether Blanche’s commitments are legally binding and whether Trump could later seek to revive a similar programme under another name.
Those concerns were particularly important to Cassidy and Murkowski, who had remained undecided before the vote.
Murkowski had previously said she lacked confidence that Blanche would be willing to “check the worst impulses of this administration”.
She also criticised Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files, immunity protections involving the president and his family, statements made to anti-abortion groups and what she described as repeated targeting of individuals, including former administration officials and sitting senators.
Cassidy, who represents Louisiana, also criticised Blanche’s role in settling Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS but ultimately said he trusted him to provide the president with candid legal advice.
Blanche will now formally lead a Justice Department that has undergone significant changes since Trump returned to office for his second term.
During his tenure as acting attorney general, the department pursued cases against people Trump viewed as political opponents, while numerous career prosecutors left their positions.
The department has also said it operates under the direction of the president, a position that has raised concerns about the longstanding principle of independence between federal law enforcement and the White House.
Federal judges have criticised prosecutors in several cases for bringing what they considered weak prosecutions, while grand juries have declined to indict in some instances.
Political appointees have also removed senior career officials considered resistant to the administration’s agenda, while staffing has been reduced in areas including the civil rights division and ethics office.
Blanche has defended his record, arguing that the Justice Department has helped drive crime to record lows and corrected what he considers to be abuses committed by the Biden administration against Trump and his conservative supporters.
His supporters say he is committed to the department’s core mission of enforcing the law and protecting Americans.
Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who helped advance Blanche’s nomination, described him as a tough and fair prosecutor committed to the rule of law.
Blanche previously spent nearly a decade as a career prosecutor in New York before becoming Trump’s personal lawyer and later joining the Justice Department.
Some Republican senators who initially questioned his nomination ultimately concluded that Blanche was likely the most acceptable attorney general candidate Trump could have selected.
They argued that his permanent appointment could give him greater independence and make him more willing to resist pressure from the White House.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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