Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as Trump’s attorney general in overnight vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a vote early on Saturday morning (August 8, 2026), cementing President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney’s command of a Justice Department the Republican president has sought to bend to his will.

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 — Sens Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

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 $1.8 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 Trump and his family from IRS tax audits.

His appeals were enough to win over Republican Sen Bill Cassidy, the decisive vote who threw his support behind Mr. Blanche on Friday morning. 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 can make him more effective at pushing back on the president’s demands.

“This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances,” said Mr. Cassidy, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger.

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,” Mr. Durbin said.

Blanche’s loyalty to Trump

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

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 $1.8 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 Sens 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 Blanche’s nomination earlier this week.

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

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