President Trump sent Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination to the Senate on June 8, teeing up a confirmation battle over his record as acting chief and his handling of two politically charged controversies.
Blanche has been running the Justice Department since early April, when Trump removed Pam Bondi after a turbulent 14 months at the helm. The White House formalized the arrangement Monday, transmitting the nomination to Capitol Hill and setting in motion what is expected to be a bruising confirmation fight. Blanche, who served as Trump's personal criminal-defense attorney before joining the administration, was already confirmed as deputy attorney general in March 2025 by a 52-46 vote along party lines.
Bondi's removal came under pressure from two directions, according to reporting from CNN and NPR. The Justice Department's handling of Jeffrey Epstein's files had drawn sustained criticism, including disclosures that exposed victims' identities and contradictory statements about the existence of a so-called client list. Trump and his allies were also reportedly frustrated that Bondi had not moved aggressively enough against his political adversaries, a tension that spilled into public view in January when Trump lambasted her and a group of U.S. attorneys as weak and ineffective. Blanche stepped into the top job immediately after her exit.
As acting attorney general, Blanche wasted little time putting his stamp on the department. He launched "Operation Take Back America," reorganizing the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods to prioritize immigration enforcement, and issued a memorandum redirecting DOJ hiring toward the southern border. The department secured indictments against high-profile Trump critics, including former FBI Director James Comey, according to published reports. Blanche rolled back gun control measures from the prior administration and issued subpoenas to journalists for their sources, moves that aligned with the enforcement posture the White House had long demanded.
"Executing on the president's priorities" is how Blanche described his primary objective during Senate testimony, framing his tenure as continuity with the law-and-order platform that anchored Trump's 2024 campaign. For conservatives who spent years arguing the Justice Department had been weaponized against the right, the record Blanche has compiled is exactly what they asked for.
Two Hurdles in the Senate
The nomination faces serious headwinds from two directions. First, a proposed $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, structured as part of a settlement with the IRS over the leaking of Trump's tax returns, set off a revolt among Republicans who feared it could send payouts to January 6 rioters. Blanche was forced to disavow the plan, and the Justice Department told two federal judges the proposal is dead, according to CNBC. The episode rattled GOP confidence in Blanche at a moment when he can afford to lose no more than four Republican votes on the Senate floor.
Second, the Epstein files controversy has followed Blanche forward from Bondi's tenure. In testimony before the House Oversight Committee released in early June, Bondi told lawmakers that Blanche had been "in charge" of the department's compliance with laws requiring public release of Epstein materials, according to CNN. Critics have accused DOJ of withholding documents and failing to properly redact victims' names, and Democratic senators have made clear the issue will dominate any confirmation hearing.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN it was "hard to say" whether Blanche could secure the votes. The most critical figure may be Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is not seeking reelection and has broken with Trump at times. Notus reported that Tillis will serve as a make-or-break vote on advancing the nomination out of the Judiciary Committee, and the senator has said Blanche's willingness to condemn the January 6 Capitol riot and distance himself from the anti-weaponization fund will be central to winning his support. Democrats, for their part, have shown no interest in compromise. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that the nomination was proof Trump "has been engaged in the most corrupt enterprise in the history of the Presidency."
The White House has predicted the confirmation will move "very quickly," and top Senate Republicans are aiming for a vote by end of summer. The committee cannot schedule a hearing until 28 days after Blanche submits his full paperwork, including financial disclosures and an FBI background check, meaning the calendar itself may test the administration's timeline. If the Senate stalls entirely, the Washington Examiner has reported Trump could keep Blanche in the acting role indefinitely, giving the White House leverage in the standoff. Whether that fallback ever becomes necessary will depend on whether Tillis and a handful of skeptical Republicans decide that Blanche's record in the job outweighs the controversies he carries into it.
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