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The Senate voted 50-49 early on August 8 2026 to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general according to official roll call records with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining all Democrats in opposition. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana cast the deciding vote after announcing the previous day that while Blanche was not perfect he represented the best option the president would nominate to lead the department. Cassidy who had faced a Trump-backed primary challenge that ended his Senate career said he was reluctant to hinder the Justice Department’s work fighting violent crime. The confirmation followed weeks of negotiations during which Blanche addressed Republican concerns by pledging in writing to narrow a tax-immunity agreement for the Trump family and end an anti-weaponization compensation fund that critics viewed as a potential vehicle to pay January 6 defendants according to Reuters reporting.
Blanche a former federal prosecutor who represented Donald Trump in his 2024 New York hush-money trial as well as federal classified documents and election interference cases has served as acting attorney general since April 2026. A Department of Justice biography notes that he began his career at the agency as a paralegal and contractor before becoming an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York where he spent more than eight years handling violent crime narcotics and gang cases eventually rising to a supervisory role. After leaving government service Blanche joined private practice representing Trump associates including Paul Manafort and later Trump himself in multiple criminal matters a PBS NewsHour profile of his career found. The Senate Judiciary Committee had advanced his nomination on a 12-10 party-line vote on August 4 according to Ballotpedia records.
Concerns over Blanche’s independence dominated the confirmation process with Murkowski citing worries about the politicisation of the Justice Department in her announcement opposing the nomination. Collins raised specific issues regarding Blanche’s involvement in settling a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service but ultimately concluded she trusted him to provide candid advice to the president according to statements reported by multiple outlets including The Associated Press. The nomination process included hearings in mid-July where senators pressed Blanche on his handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and the proposed $1.8 billion fund that originated from the IRS litigation a Reuters assessment found. Blanche agreed during those sessions to walk back elements of the fund and the tax protections though questions remain about whether such commitments would bind future actions.
As attorney general Blanche will oversee an agency with more than 115,000 employees including the FBI Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors across 93 US attorney’s offices according to the Department of Justice website. He previously served as deputy attorney general after his confirmation to that post in March 2025 before assuming the acting top role following the dismissal of Pam Bondi. Critics including the New York City Bar Association argued in a July letter to the Judiciary Committee that his record demonstrated insufficient commitment to the department’s independence and impartiality a position echoed by the National Urban League in correspondence urging rejection of the nomination. Supporters countered that Blanche’s prosecutorial experience equipped him to restore law and order.
The narrow confirmation caps a contentious period in which Senate Republicans weighed loyalty to the president against reservations about potential conflicts stemming from Blanche’s prior role as Trump’s personal defense counsel. Cassidy acknowledged that Trump would ultimately set the department’s direction but suggested confirmation would afford Blanche leverage to advocate for priorities such as combating violent crime according to his public remarks. It remains unclear how the new attorney general will navigate ongoing legal matters involving the administration or past investigations a point highlighted in coverage by The New York Times. The vote installs the second confirmed attorney general of Trump’s current term after Bondi’s tenure ended in April.
Blanche expressed appreciation for the confirmation in remarks following the vote stating he was honored to serve in the role. His official biography highlights his return to the Justice Department after years in private practice where he defended clients in high-profile cases. The outcome reflects the Republican majority’s willingness to advance the nomination despite internal divisions that nearly derailed it in recent weeks according to reporting by Politico.
