Todd Blanche confirmed as US attorney general after divisive hearing

US Senate Republicans have narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche to be President Donald Trump’s attorney general, capping one of the most contentious cabinet fights of Trump’s second term after bipartisan concerns over Mr Blanche’s independence nearly derailed the nomination.

The Republican-led Senate voted 50–49 to make Mr Blanche the second confirmed attorney general since Mr Trump returned to the White House last year with a stated desire to use the law enforcement agency to investigate his political enemies. 

While Mr Blanche has already been leading the department in an acting capacity, his confirmation could free him to pursue the Trump administration’s agenda even more aggressively.

The vote followed a tumultuous confirmation fight that exposed deep concerns — from some Republicans as well as Democrats — about installing Mr Trump’s close ally atop a Justice Department that historically prided itself on its independence from the White House.

In the end, Mr Blanche was confirmed by the narrowest of margins, opposed by two Republicans — Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

On social media, Mr Blanche said he was “deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me,” adding he was “grateful” to senators for working late to confirm him.

The path to confirmation for Mr Blanche was unusually rocky, due in large part to Republican concerns about a controversial settlement of Mr Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

Under pressure, Mr Blanche publicly promised in writing that the department would abandon Mr Trump’s proposed $US 1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) compensation fund for the president’s allies, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and rein in another piece of the settlement designed to shield Mr Trump and his family from IRS tax audits.

His appeals were enough to win over Republican Bill Cassidy, the decisive vote who threw his support behind Mr Blanche on Friday morning, local time. 

Mr Cassidy said no other nominee may be able to run the department better under Mr Trump and suggested Mr Blanche’s role as Mr Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer could make him more effective at pushing back on the president’s demands.

“This is not a referendum on President Trump,” Senator Cassidy said, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger.

 “It is a decision regarding Mr Blanche in very specific circumstances.”

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said confirming Mr Blanche would be a “serious mistake”.

He begged his colleagues not to be on the “wrong side” of history.

“If there is ever a moment in history when we need an attorney general above reproach, who is clearly dedicated to ending corruption, even at the highest level of our government, it’s right now,” Senator Durbin said.

The vote capped off a bruising confirmation fight, with Mr Blanche’s loyalty to Mr Trump at the centre of the stalemate.

Blanche elevated after Bondi firing

Mr Blanche was elevated to the top Justice Department post in an acting capacity after Mr Trump fired Pam Bondi in April.

Mr Blanche moved swiftly to advance the president’s interests, accelerating investigations into Mr Trump’s perceived foes and announcing the settlement that created the $US1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate people who feel mistreated by the criminal justice system and provided Mr Trump and family members with immunity from tax audits.

The controversial settlement threatened to torpedo Mr Blanche’s nomination until he formally rescinded the fund in writing under pressure from Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

The deal reached between the senators and the department unlocked a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which advanced Mr Blanche’s nomination earlier this week.

Even after the deal, Mr Blanche faced opposition from some Republican senators concerned with the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the tax audit immunity deal.

Senator Murkowski announced early Friday that she would join Senator Collins in opposing Mr Blanche’s nomination, saying the country needed an attorney general “who will check the worst impulses of this administration”.

Rise to fame in Trump hush money trial

A former federal prosecutor in New York, Mr Blanche rose to public prominence as a lead attorney on Mr Trump’s defense team, including during the Republican’s hush money trial in New York. 

He also defended Mr Trump against criminal charges in the two federal cases brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice — an experience Mr Blanche has said provided him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponisation of the criminal justice system against Mr Trump.

Mr Blanche entered the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general under Ms Bondi, overseeing the agency’s day-to-day operations and serving as the public face for high-profile and controversial matters, like the release of millions of investigative files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats have accused Mr Blanche of prioritising his loyalty to Mr Trump above all else through investigations against Mr Trump’s foes such as former FBI Director James Comey and a radical reshaping of the department. 

Under Ms Bondi and Mr Blanche’s leadership, the department has lost thousands of employees through firings, resignations or voluntary departures.

Mr Blanche’s supporters say his experience as a federal prosecutor and the trust he earned from Mr Trump in the courtroom made him better equipped than Ms Bondi to explain to the White House the legal constraints of its demands. 

Republicans have also touted his efforts to bring down violent crime, tackle illegal immigration and combat violent cartels and drug trafficking.

AP