Trump nominates Todd Blanche for attorney general

President Donald Trump said on June 3 that he would nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, moving to make permanent the former Trump defense lawyer who has been running the Justice Department on an acting basis since April. Trump made the announcement at a White House dinner and said he planned to send the nomination formally on June 4, according to video of the event and multiple news reports. Todd Blanche is already serving as acting attorney general while also holding the title of deputy attorney general, according to the Justice Department. The department says Blanche oversees more than 100,000 employees across Main Justice, the FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals, ATF, Bureau of Prisons and 93 U.S. attorney’s offices. ### Why is Todd Blanche’s rise unusual? (usnews.com) Todd Blanche represented Trump in three criminal cases in 2023 and 2024 before joining the administration, the Justice Department says in his official biography. Before that, Blanche spent nearly 15 years at the department, including as an assistant U.S. attorney and later a supervisor in the Southern District of New York. (justice.gov) April 2 was the turning point for his current role. NBC News reported that Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi that day and said Blanche, then the deputy attorney general, would take over as acting attorney general. ### What has Blanche done while leading the department? May 18 brought Blanche into one of the administration’s most scrutinized Justice Department decisions. (justice.gov) NBC News reported that the department created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” after Trump moved to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. (nbcnews.com) The Justice Department said that fund would create a process to hear claims from people who said they had suffered “weaponization and lawfare,” and the attorney general would appoint five members of the commission overseeing it. NBC reported that the fund could cover claims by pardoned Jan. 6 rioters and was set to stop processing claims by Dec. 15, 2028. (nbcnews.com) May 19 added another layer of scrutiny. NBC News reported that Blanche signed an addendum stating the government would not pursue pending tax claims against Trump, his family members and their businesses as part of the settlement tied to the IRS case. A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC the agreement applied only to existing audits, not future ones. (nbcnews.com) ### How does the White House describe Blanche’s role? The Justice Department’s official profile says Blanche is “working tirelessly to implement President Trump’s priorities,” including immigration enforcement, drug-trafficking cases, violent crime and fraud matters. The White House cabinet page also lists Blanche among Trump’s top advisers and says he was appointed to work alongside Bondi before becoming acting attorney general. (nbcnews.com) The Associated Press reported that Trump chose Blanche after he had already “aggressively pursued” the president’s agenda while leading the department in an acting role. ABC News and Politico both reported that administration officials expected the nomination to be sent after Trump announced his decision at Wednesday’s dinner. (justice.gov) ### What happens next in the confirmation process? The next formal step is transmission of the nomination to the Senate. Once received, the nomination would typically be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing and then a committee vote before any full Senate confirmation vote. The White House’s nominations page shows the administration has continued sending nominations to the Senate through early June. (usnews.com) Senators were already pressing Blanche before this nomination. NBC News reported last week that Republican senators confronted him in a closed-door meeting over the administration’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund, a sign that his confirmation could draw questions not only from Democrats but from some Republicans as well. (nbcnews.com) (whitehouse.gov)