Senate confirms Todd Blanche as US attorney general in 50-49 vote

Washington, United States. The US Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as President Donald Trump’s attorney general in a 50-49 vote on Saturday, concluding a contentious cabinet nomination process marked by concerns over his independence.

Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against Blanche, while Senator Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote after saying on Friday that Blanche was the best candidate Trump would nominate.

Weeks-long standoff

Blanche had served as acting attorney general since April and previously oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Justice Department as its second-ranking official.

The confirmation followed a weeks-long standoff between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration. Republican senators raised concerns over Blanche’s handling of the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, his role in establishing Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and a related tax-immunity agreement for Trump and his sons.

Written commitments

In meetings on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, Blanche agreed in writing to narrow the tax-immunity agreement and end the “weaponization” payments. Critics have described the fund as a slush fund for Trump’s allies, including people who rioted at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The tax-immunity agreement barred the Internal Revenue Service from auditing previous tax returns of Trump, his sons and their family business. Both the agreement and the fund emerged from Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

Questions remain over whether Blanche’s commitments are legally binding and whether Trump, who has said he supports the fund, could later press his former personal attorney to revive a similar programme under another name.

Senators’ concerns

Cassidy and Murkowski, the final two Republican senators Blanche needed to persuade, met with him on Wednesday after indicating that they had not decided how to vote.

Murkowski said she lacked confidence in Blanche’s ability to “check the worst impulses of this administration.”

“I take issue with the handling ‌of ⁠the release of the Epstein files; the sweeping immunity protections granted to the President, his family, and their businesses; the statements that have been made to anti-abortion groups; and the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. Senators,” Murkowski said in a post on X.

Cassidy, who represents Louisiana, criticised Blanche’s role in settling Trump’s IRS lawsuit but said he ultimately trusted him to give the president candid legal advice.

Justice Department changes

Blanche takes charge of a Justice Department that has undergone significant change during the first year and a half of Trump’s second term.

Under Blanche’s leadership, the department has sought prosecutions of Trump’s perceived enemies, seen mass departures of career prosecutors and stated that it operated at the direction of the president, departing from longstanding norms of independence.