US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to appoint Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the permanent head of the Department of Justice.
If the Senate approves the nomination, Blanche formerly one of Trump’s personal lawyers will assume the position of the nation’s chief law enforcement officer on a continuing basis. The attorney general leads the U.S. Department of Justice and serves as the top official responsible for federal prosecutions and legal enforcement.
Blanche stepped into the acting role shortly after Trump dismissed Pam Bondi in April. A close Trump associate, he has previously represented the president in several high-profile legal battles, including cases related to allegations that Trump improperly retained classified documents after leaving office at the end of his first term.
A video shared on Wednesday night by Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino captured Trump stating that he would formally nominate Blanche “tomorrow,” adding that he expected the Senate confirmation process to proceed “very quickly.”
Earlier in the week, Trump publicly commended Blanche during an appearance on the Pod Force One podcast, describing him as highly skilled and praising his performance at the Justice Department.
In recent weeks, Blanche has also been involved in controversy surrounding a Justice Department proposal to establish an “anti-weaponisation fund,” reportedly worth $1.8 billion, intended to compensate individuals who claim they were harmed by government overreach. The initiative faced opposition from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and a federal judge later halted the plan temporarily to allow legal challenges to proceed.
During congressional testimony on Tuesday, Blanche confirmed that the proposal had been abandoned, stating clearly that the department would no longer pursue it.
Before joining Trump’s second administration, Blanche served as the president’s private legal counsel. His work included defending Trump in multiple criminal and civil proceedings, such as the federal investigation into alleged mishandling of classified materials and separate claims involving efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Both cases were eventually dropped following Trump’s return to office in 2024, in line with Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
Blanche, aged 51, was born in Colorado and completed his undergraduate studies at American University in Washington, D.C., before earning his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 2003. He spent a significant portion of his early legal career as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York before moving into private practice at major law firms including Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
As deputy attorney general, Blanche worked alongside Pam Bondi on the release of Justice Department materials connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He also interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Additionally, Blanche briefly served as acting Librarian of Congress during his tenure in government.
His rise to acting attorney general followed Bondi’s departure from the Justice Department in April. At the time, Blanche dismissed media claims suggesting Bondi’s handling of Epstein-related files influenced her exit from the administration.
Bondi has since been reported to be joining a new White House advisory body focused on artificial intelligence and scientific policy, known as the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
