Blanche Confirmed as U.S. Attorney General

What's happened

Todd Blanche has been confirmed 50–49 as U.S. attorney general and sworn in at the White House. He has served as acting attorney general since April, previously represented the president, and has rescinded a proposed $1.8bn compensation fund while facing criticism that he is politicising the Justice Department and presiding over mass departures.

What's behind the headline?

What this really means

Blanche's confirmation completes a shift the White House has been pursuing: a Senate‑backed attorney general who previously defended the president. That matters because Blanche now has formal authority to direct DOJ policy and will have greater leverage inside the department than he did as acting AG.

How he will act

• Blanche is inheriting an agency that has lost hundreds of prosecutors and staff; he will be running with a depleted bench.
• He has already rescinded the $1.8bn fund in writing; he will be able to relaunch similar measures or pursue alternative avenues, like expanding Federal Tort Claims Act claims, if political pressure pushes him to compensate allies.
• He is aligned with the White House. Expect him to prioritise investigations and actions that the administration views as redress for what it calls prior "weaponization."

Immediate consequences

• Court challenges and oversight fights will increase. With Blanche confirmed, Democrats will intensify oversight and legal challenges aimed at blocking politically charged prosecutions.
• The Justice Department's credibility with career prosecutors will remain strained. More resignations or slowdowns in high‑stakes cases will follow if agents and US attorneys clash with direction from Washington.

Outlook

Blanche will reshape priorities quickly: he will press cases that fit the administration's political agenda and defend policies that narrow oversight of the president. That will force a cascade of congressional inquiries, courtroom fights and personnel turnover that will define DOJ politics through the next election cycle.

How we got here

Republicans narrowly confirmed Blanche after a bruising fight over a settlement that would have created a $1.8bn "anti-weaponization" fund and limited IRS audit protections for the president. Two Senate Republicans opposed him. Blanche had been deputy attorney general and served as the president's private lawyer before joining the Justice Department.

Our analysis

Coverage of Blanche's confirmation converges on three clear points: the narrow 50–49 vote, his prior role as the president's lawyer, and the controversy over the proposed $1.8bn fund. The Guardian notes he "has been serving as acting attorney general since April" and that every Democrat opposed his nomination, saying he "took over the department after Pam Bondi was ousted" (The Guardian). AP recorded the ceremony detail that Judge Emil Bove administered the oath and emphasised the department's depletion: "an agency hollowed out by resignations, firings and voluntary departures" (AP News). Axios unpacked the political mechanics earlier in July, showing how the fund and Epstein‑file backlash stalled the nomination until written assurances were provided (Axios). The Independent provided the most granular account of the fund and its political fallout, reporting on written promises to rescind the compensation scheme and on senators' demands to narrow audit protections tied to a settlement. It also described how Blanche has been asked about high‑profile, politically sensitive cases such as the former Olympian and Dr. Anthony Fauci (Independent). Bloomberg and the New York Post supplied human detail: Bloomberg records Blanche defending Jeanine Pirro's dismissal of a vandalism case, and the New York Post described Blanche's arrival at DOJ with applause from staff. Together, the sources show a consistent narrative: Blanche has been confirmed after concessions on the fund, he brings a close relationship with the president, and his tenure will intensify partisan scrutiny of the Justice Department.

Go deeper

• How will Blanche's confirmation change ongoing politically charged investigations?
• Will career prosecutors resign or push back in significant cases under Blanche's leadership?

More on these topics

• Pam Bondi - Former Florida Attorney General

  Pamela Jo Bondi is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician. A Republican, she served as the 37th Florida Attorney General from 2011 to 2019.

• Jeffrey Epstein - American financier

  Jeffrey Edward Epstein was an American financier and convicted sex offender. He began his professional life as a teacher but then switched to the banking and finance sector in various roles, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm.

• Lisa Murkowski - United States Senator

  Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. She is a member of the Republican Party, and is the second most senior Republican woman in the Senate.

• Susan Collins - United States Senator

  Susan Margaret Collins is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Maine. A Republican, Collins has served in the Senate since 1997. Born in Caribou, Maine, Collins is a graduate of St. Lawrence University.

• Joe Biden - President of the United States

  Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. is an American politician who is the 46th and current president of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and represented Delaware in the United States Senate

• Bill Cassidy - United States Senator

  William Morgan Cassidy is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Louisiana, a seat he was elected to in 2014.

• White House - Official residence and office of the President of the United States

  The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 when the national...

• United States - Country in North America

  The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.

• Internal Revenue Service - Federal agency

  The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The government agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointe

• Senate - Type of legislative body, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature

  A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: senex meaning "the elder" or "old man") and...

• New York - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  New York most commonly refers to: New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to:

• Washington, D.C. - Capital of the United States of America

  Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington or D.C., is the capital of the United States.

• Department of Justice - Wikimedia list article

  A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a very...

• New York - US State

  New York is a state in the Northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With more than 19 million residents in 2019, it is the fourth-most-populous state.

• Alaska - US State

  Alaska is a state located in the northwest extremity of the United States West Coast, just across the Bering Strait from Asia. An exclave of the U.S., it borders the Canadian province of British Columbia and territory of Yukon to the east and southeast an

• Maine - US State

  Maine is the northernmost state in the Northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 13th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.

• Stephanie Clifford - American pornographic actress

  Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic actress, stripper, writer and director. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.

• Louisiana - US State

  Louisiana is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States. It is the 19th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states.

• Jeanine Pirro - American television host

  Jeanine Ferris Pirro is an American television host and author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro is the host of Fox News Channel's Justice with Judge Jeanine.

• Merrick Garland - 86th United States Attorney General

  Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 86th United States attorney general from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of...

• Anthony Fauci - American physician

  Anthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

• Thom Tillis - United States Senator

  Thomas Roland Tillis is an American politician who has served as the junior United States Senator for North Carolina since 2015.

• Lincoln Memorial - National memorial in Washington, D.C., United States

  The Lincoln Memorial is an American national memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument.

• James Comey - Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

  James Brien Comey Jr. is an American lawyer who was the 7th director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2013 until his dismissal in May 2017.