Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general by 50-49 vote

The Senate voted 50-49 on Saturday morning to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, elevating him from the Justice Department's second-in-command to lead the 100,000-person agency. All Democratic senators and Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski opposed the nomination, while Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s vote proved decisive after the absence of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Cassidy, who lost his renomination bid, said he had concerns about Blanche’s role in shielding the president from IRS audits and about DOJ lawsuits against the president’s perceived political opponents, but he emphasized that his support was not a referendum on the president. "Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this," Cassidy said, adding that the choice was between Blanche and an acting attorney general who might not run the department effectively.

Blanche’s confirmation cleared hurdles related to the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, created in a settlement over the president’s leaked tax returns. After Senate Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written assurances that the fund would be rescinded, Blanche provided a statement confirming its termination. The Justice Department also issued a clarification that audit protections from the settlement applied only retroactively to Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization.

Legal experts questioned the enforceability of those assurances, noting they had not been signed by all parties to the settlement. "These assurances are not worth the paper they're written on," said Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center at NYU Law.

Critics also highlighted Blanche’s past actions as deputy attorney general, including pursuing cases that appeared to target political opponents and handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla said the American people deserve better, while survivors of Epstein expressed disappointment with Blanche’s demeanor during a meeting.

Sen. John Cornell praised Blanche’s willingness to work with the committee and stressed the need for a permanent DOJ head. "President Trump needs someone in this role with a strong legal mind who is close enough to give him confidential legal advice and tell him hard truths," Cornyn said before the committee vote.