Todd Blanche confirmed as attorney general in 50-49 Senate vote

Todd Blanche won confirmation as attorney general early Saturday, ending a fight that came close to costing President Trump his pick to run the Justice Department.

Senators voted 50-49 at 4:31 a.m., just before the chamber began a five-week break. Two Republicans voted no: Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Every Democrat opposed him as well. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has not been in the Senate since a June fall, did not vote.

Blanche has run the department on an acting basis since April, when Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. The confirmation gives him the job outright.

His path cleared Friday, when Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican, announced from the Senate floor that he would vote yes. Cassidy had been seen as a possible third Republican defection, which would have sunk the nomination.

"The choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche," Cassidy said. "It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche."

Cassidy voted for Blanche but joined Collins and Murkowski in raising public concerns about the politicization of the Justice Department under Trump.

Cassidy cast the vote as a lame duck. He lost his Republican primary in May, finishing third with 24.8 percent behind Rep. Julia Letlow, whom Trump endorsed, and state Treasurer John Fleming. Cassidy was the first Republican senator to lose renomination in nearly a decade, five years after he voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial.

Who is Todd Blanche?

Blanche is an attorney who left a position at a prestigious Wall Street law firm in 2023 to become one of Trump's personal lawyers. He helped lead Trump's legal defense during multiple major cases, including the New York "hush money" case that resulted in Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts and the dismissed federal criminal case in which Trump was accused of mishandling classified documents. 

After winning reelection, Trump nominated Blanche to become deputy attorney general, the second-highest-ranking official at the Department of Justice under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi. In that position, Blanche played a key role in some of the DOJ's most high-profile operations, including the release of documents related to investigations into disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and criminal cases against several people Trump viewed as political enemies. 

Trump tapped Blanche to lead the Justice Department as acting attorney general in April after he fired Bondi amid reports that he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the way she was running the DOJ. Blanche was a contentious pick because of his close ties to Trump and the perception among critics that he would put his loyalty to the president over his commitment to defending the Justice Department's independence. 

Earlier this month, a group of 1,200 former DOJ employees signed a letter asking the Senate to reject Blanche's nomination, arguing that his top guiding principle is "fealty to the President, not the Constitution." 

What was holding up Blanche's confirmation?

In May, the DOJ and the IRS reached a settlement resolving a $10 billion lawsuit that Trump had filed against the tax agency over the leak of his tax returns. The deal, which was brokered by Blanche, included the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund meant to compensate people who feel they have been unfairly targeted by the federal government — a provision that critics said could apply to people who faced criminal liability for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Tillis described the fund as a "payout pot for punks" in a post on X.

A second part of the settlement could also grant Trump, his family members and their businesses sweeping immunity from tax audits and, according to critics, potential criminal immunity as well, depending on how the language is interpreted.

Blanche told Congress in July that the fund was "dead," but conceded that the White House could attempt to revive it at some point in the future. 

Cornyn and Tillis, two critical GOP votes in the Judiciary Committee, said they would end their blockade of Blanche's nomination when the fund was formally dissolved in writing. The senators also wanted Blanche to codify that the tax settlement only grants tax immunity to people and entities directly involved in the lawsuit, not the president's broader business orbit, and applies only to past audits, not future ones.

Blanche's Sunday order satisfied both of their demands. He wrote that the fund is "rescinded and shall have no force or effect." He also clarified that the tax immunity applies "only retroactively" and does not extend to anyone other than the "named parties" in the lawsuit — Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization. 

During Tuesday's meeting, Democrats argued that the order was effectively meaningless and doesn't carry the legal weight that Tillis and Cornyn say it does. 

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee, said Blanche's amendments to the settlement are "unenforceable" because it wasn't signed by any of the parties in the lawsuit. He added that the language of the order leaves room for the anti-weaponization fund to be revived "15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general."

The successful committee vote did not end the uncertainty around Blanche's confirmation chances. Republicans currently have 52 voting members of the Senate, with longtime Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell out for an extended period as he recovers from a fall. With all Democrats firmly in opposition, it would take only three GOP no votes to sink his confirmation. Murkowski and Collins made two. Some of Cassidy's GOP colleagues reportedly expected him to be the decisive third vote against, but he instead opted to back Trump's pick.

"I will be criticized for this vote," Cassidy said Friday. "What's new? But the people of Louisiana can be assured that I worked hard to understand the issue and to make the right decision."

What's next?

Blanche now leads the Justice Department with Senate backing, and he starts with Congress out of town. Senators began a five-week break within hours of confirming him, which pushes any oversight hearings to September.

One decision is already waiting: A Senate committee led by Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, voted 8-5 on Thursday to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer questions at a COVID-19 hearing, invoking his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Paul chose not to put the matter before the full Senate, where it would have needed Democratic votes he did not have, and sent the referral straight to the Justice Department, CBS News reported.

That shortcut still leaves one gate. Before a prosecutor can take up a contempt referral, the Senate's presiding officer has to sign off on it. That officer is Vice President JD Vance. If he signs, the report goes to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Whether Fauci is charged is then a decision for the Justice Department, which Blanche now runs.

Democrats are also watching the anti-weaponization fund. Blanche rescinded it in writing to win over Cornyn and Tillis, but Durbin argued the order carries no legal force and predicted the fund could be revived "15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general."