Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be Attorney General, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2026.
Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, was set for confirmation on August 7, 2026 as US attorney general after Senate Republicans shrugged off Democratic concerns over politicization of the Justice Department.. Photo: AFP
President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was confirmed as US attorney general on Saturday after Senate Republicans shrugged off Democratic concerns over the politicisation of the Justice Department.
Blanche, who has already been serving as the top US law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, represented Trump as his private attorney in several criminal trials before entering government. The Senate, which Republicans narrowly control, confirmed him by 50 votes to 49.
Trump, who has upended US political norms by seeking to bring nominally independent government agencies under his increasingly direct control, calls Blanche a “star.”
