2026-08-11 · contested story
Todd Blanche is narrowly confirmed as Trump's attorney general in an overnight Senate vote
Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal defense attorney who led his team in the Manhattan hush money trial and two federal prosecutions, was narrowly confirmed by the Senate as attorney general in an overnight 50-49 vote, with Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining every Democrat in opposition. The confirmation followed a bruising fight that centered on Blanche's controversial $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund and an IRS settlement granting Trump and his family immunity from tax audits — a deal a federal judge condemned as improper self-dealing. Blanche only cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee after outgoing Republicans John Cornyn and Thom Tillis extracted written assurances that the fund was dead, and after Bill Cassidy became the decisive vote.
How each side frames it
left
"Democratic senators are going to have a lot of opportunities to make him look like a corrupt, unqualified, incompetent hack. He's certainly played the part."
"In casting off those formative lessons cultivated and practiced by generations of Department of Justice prosecutors... Blanche has emerged as something altogether unrecognizable."
"The problem with confirming Todd Blanche is that he has never been able to shed his role as criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump. He just can't do it."
"But in fact he has steered the Justice Department toward institutional wreckage."
"rather than being a calming influence on the administration, Blanche has been spearheading the president's retribution effort within the DOJ."
center
"Blanche referred to himself as Trump's attorney in the present tense, saying, "I'm his lawyer" before correcting himself to say that he "was his lawyer.""
"While the Trump administration has said it is determined to end the 'weaponization' of law enforcement it said occurred under the Biden administration, critics argue it has instead turned the agency into a tool of retribution against Trump's political opponents."
"Blanche has a razor thin margin of error, as even a single Republican no-vote in committee could tank his nomination."
"Nobody is above the law," Blanche told Durbin. "And when we enter the settlements like that … It doesn't make any of those individuals above the law."
"There is no evidence that undocumented immigrants have illegally voted in U.S. elections in numbers large enough to sway the outcome."
right
"Under his leadership, violent crime has fallen dramatically and hit record lows. Property crime is also down, as is cartel activity."
"Cornyn and Tillis are just two disgruntled RINO's that can't accept the fact that people are tired of the same old same old, and voted them out in their primaries and now they are just being obstructionists."
"I think they just dislike the president, and this is their way of getting at the president by going through his proposed attorney general"
"RINO Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, both of whom voted to confirm Biden's Attorney General, Merrick Garland, were the only Republican no votes."
"the Constitution gives the president the full power to pardon anybody for any reason he wants"
What each side left out
The left left out — covered by the New York Post & Al Jazeera & AP & Grassley statement via The Damage Report
- Falling violent crime rates and record-low homicide statistics cited by supporters
- Blanche's decades-long career as an SDNY prosecutor of drug and violent crime cases
- Endorsement from former GOP and Democratic-era DOJ chiefs of staff and Bill Barr
The right left out — covered by the The New Republic & The Guardian & Forbes & Reuters
- The federal judge's ruling that the IRS lawsuit was collusive self-dealing and referral of Blanche to bar authorities
- 1,200+ former DOJ employees signing a letter opposing his confirmation
- Epstein survivors' opposition and redaction failures exposing their identities
The right left out — covered by the Politico & NPR & Financial Times
- Blanche's slip-up calling himself Trump's current lawyer
- Details of the tax immunity addendum shielding Trump's family from audits
The left left out — covered by the Financial Times & Reuters & BBC
- Blanche's statements that he would resign if asked to act illegally and that he doesn't believe Trump can run for a third term
- His acknowledgment that Jan. 6 rioters who assaulted police 'should have been prosecuted'
The center left out — covered by the Just Security & Lawfare
- Deeper analysis of the sycophancy/delator pattern in Blanche's prosecutions
- The Attorney General Succession Act loophole that would let Blanche serve indefinitely regardless of confirmation
What's actually true?
[verified] The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a 50-49 vote early Saturday, with Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining every Democrat in opposition.
[verified] Blanche served as Trump's personal defense attorney in the Manhattan hush money trial and two federal prosecutions before joining the DOJ.
[verified] When asked if he and Trump were friends, Blanche replied 'I'm his lawyer' before correcting himself to 'was his lawyer.'
[verified] A federal judge (Kathleen Williams) ruled the Trump IRS lawsuit was collusive and brought for an improper purpose, referring attorneys including Blanche to state bar authorities for potential discipline.
[verified] More than 1,200 former DOJ employees signed a letter opposing Blanche's confirmation.
[verified] Blanche acknowledged that approximately 1% of the Epstein file redactions had to be fixed and apologized for the mistakes.
[verified] Blanche said he did not believe Trump was eligible to run for a third term as president.
[verified] Bill Cassidy became the decisive vote for Blanche, saying it was 'not a referendum on President Trump' but a decision about Blanche specifically.
The narrative clash
Whether the anti-weaponization fund is truly dead
Left: The parties could still sue to enforce the agreement and the cop beaters fund can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanch is confirmed as attorney general.
Right: the weaponization fund is dead
Whether the DOJ was transparent about the Epstein files
Left: The Biden administration did nothing to be transparent about the Epstein case. We have been extraordinarily transparent in not only producing the records but letting unredacted versions be available to anybody in this body.
Right: Transparent? Blanche doesn't get to talk about transparency when he's still withholding three million pages of the Epstein files.
Whether Blanche is qualified and fit to serve
Left: corruption and abuses… have defined his tenure, and that he has degraded the DOJ's apolitical career workforce
Right: no fair-minded person could possibly conclude that Blanche wasn't qualified for the job
50 sources analyzed
The Bulwark New York Magazine The New Republic The Boston Globe CNN Politico NPR The Washington Post The Daily Beast The Damage Report The Guardian PBS NBC News Los Angeles Times Deadline Al Jazeera USA Today U.S. News & World Report MSN (UK) CNN The Independent CNN Mediaite BBC WSJ Just Security Axios The Hill wonkette.com Forbes MS NOW CNBC Financial Times Slate Magazine Balls and Strikes ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos Lawfare Courthouse News the-independent.com Associated Press Reuters Democracy Docket Boston.com Morning Call ABC4 Utah WKYC 3 C-SPAN New York Post The Gateway Pundit Fox News