The Senate voted 50-49 at 4 AM Saturday to confirm Todd Blanche as the 87th U.S. attorney general. Only Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted with all Democrats against him. Blanche served as Trump's lead personal defense attorney through his 2024 criminal trials before elevation to deputy AG. He now commands 115,000-plus DOJ employees — the largest single law enforcement organization in the world.
1
Independence Questions
Democrats demanded Blanche pledge to defy unlawful presidential directives. He declined preemptive guarantees, saying he would assess situations as they arose. Collins and Murkowski centered their objections on the same structural conflict: the man who defended Trump in federal court now controls which of Trump's critics face federal charges.
2
Anti-Weaponization Fund
The White House reportedly directed cancellation of the 'anti-weaponization' fund — earmarked to compensate those targeted by alleged government overreach. CNN reported direct West Wing involvement in the decision. Blanche pledged at his hearing to examine the fund's status but gave no timeline or restoration commitment.
3
From Defense Lawyer to Top Enforcer
The three prior AGs — Garland, Sessions, Barr — each needed months to assert control over career staff. Blanche holds one structural advantage: unlike Sessions and Barr, he enters with full, unambiguous White House backing. The counter-pressure is 100,000 career civil servants whose institutional loyalty predates any political appointment.
The DOJ's political character never vanishes — it reassigns uniforms.
Sources
- ✓ Washington Post — Senate narrowly approves Todd Blanche as AG — 2026-08-08
- ✓ NPR — Senate votes to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general — 2026-08-08
- ✓ The Hill — Senate confirms Blanche as attorney general — 2026-08-08
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