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WASHINGTON (CN) — President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to nominate Todd Blanche as his next attorney general, elevating his former personal lawyer to a permanent position as head of the Department of Justice.
Though the move has yet to be announced, Trump has signaled that Blanche — currently acting attorney general — would be his pick to lead the Justice Department full-time. But his nomination could face an uphill battle in the Senate, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle recently scrutinized his stewardship of a controversial settlement fund for victims of “government weaponization.”
According to a report from CNN, the president is expected to name Blanche as his attorney general pick in an announcement that could come as soon as Wednesday night. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, reached for comment, refused to confirm that plan to Courthouse News but instead offered words of support for Blanche.
“President Trump has a great relationship with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and is very pleased with the job he’s doing so far,” said Jackson. “Todd Blanche is an American patriot who fearlessly fought against the Democrats’ unprecedented lawfare campaign on behalf of President Trump.”
Blanche, who before joining the second Trump administration represented the president on his personal legal team, has served as acting attorney general since April, after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired from her role. Prior to that, he’d been at the Justice Department as deputy attorney general.
Since Bondi’s departure from the administration, Blanche has been among the leading expected candidates for a permanent post as attorney general. And Trump has already sent signals he plans to give his former personal lawyer the nod.
Asked by the New York Post in an interview released Wednesday whether he thought Blanche would be his attorney general nominee, the president replied: “I think he will, yeah.” Trump added he did not have anyone else in mind for the role.
If Blanche is formally nominated, he will need to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing and survive a crucial vote on the Senate floor. And while he had few issues getting confirmed last year as the Justice Department’s second in command, he’s courted controversy with Republican lawmakers in recent weeks over his handling of a $1.8 billion slush fund announced by the Trump administration for victims of so-called government weaponization.
The proposed fund drew sharp criticism from some Senate Republicans who worried it could effectively serve as a taxpayer-funded payout to people convicted of violent crimes associated with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Blanche told lawmakers this week the Justice Department would not move forward with the “anti-weaponization” fund after Republican heartburn over the program nearly derailed a must-pass budget reconciliation bill working its way through the upper chamber. If he is nominated to serve as attorney general, it’s unclear whether his momentary standoff with members of the Senate GOP could hurt his chances at confirmation.
Democrats, for their part, are sure to be furious if Blanche is chosen to lead the Justice Department. They’ve long claimed his past as the president’s personal lawyer threatens the agency’s historical independence from the executive branch — though Blanche has denied his experience on Trump’s legal team affects his work at the Justice Department.
The acting attorney general’s involvement in the redaction and release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is another issue likely to be a centerpiece of Democratic opposition to Blanche. As deputy attorney general, he interviewed the late sex criminal’s main accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell shortly before she was transferred to a lower-security prison.
House Democrats have also demanded Blanche testify in the congressional probe into Epstein, pointing to comments reportedly made by former attorney general Bondi in a House Oversight Committee interview last week in which she said her one-time deputy knew more about the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein documents.
As of Monday night, the White House had yet to make any announcement about Trump’s attorney general nominee.
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