Todd Blanche has been leading the department in an acting capacity since former Attorney General Pam Bondi exited the administration in early April.
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Senior Reporter, States NewsroomStates Newsroom
President Trump will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, to fill the top role at the Justice Department on a permanent basis, he said Wednesday night.Trump revealed Blanche as his choice at an outdoor event at the White House, saying “we are going to make him permanent attorney general” and adding that he expects Blanche’s nomination process to “go very quickly.&rdquoBlanche has been leading the department in an acting capacity since former Attorney General Pam Bondi exited the administration in early April.Blanche, of Florida, will almost certainly have that state’s two Republican senators, Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, supporting his nomination.The GOP-led Senate confirmed Blanche as deputy attorney general in early March 2025 on a party-line vote.Blanche represented Trump in 2023 and 2024 during a New York state hush money case. A jury convicted Trump two years ago on 34 first-degree felony counts of falsifying business records.The close tie between the president and his pick for attorney general is a major reason Democrats will oppose the nomination, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday.“Trump picked Blanche because he’s loyal to the president alone — not the Constitution, not the rule of law, and certainly not the American people, and not to the values that this country has had for 250 years,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “For years, Blanche has been Trump’s personal lawyer and attack dog, and that didn’t stop when Blanche joined the department.”Anti-weaponization fund
