Senate confirms Trump's former lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general in 50-49 vote

Confirmation by a single vote

The US Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as the 88th attorney general in a 50-49 vote held at 4:17 AM Eastern time on Saturday, 8 August. Every Democrat voted against, joined by Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was absent for health reasons. Blanche, 52, has led the Justice Department, which employs approximately 100,000 people, in an acting capacity since April, when President Donald Trump dismissed Pam Bondi from the post. He is Trump's former personal criminal defense lawyer.

Weeks of Republican resistance

Three Republican senators, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had threatened to withhold support over two disputed elements of a settlement tied to Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service: a proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for individuals the administration said were unjustly targeted during the Biden presidency, including some involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol assault, and a provision granting Trump and his family immunity from IRS tax audits. Blanche submitted written assurances the previous weekend that the fund would not be created and clarified the scope of the IRS deal. Cornyn and Tillis then backed him. Cassidy, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger, announced his support on Friday after conversations including with former attorney general William Barr.

Mr Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr Blanche. It is between Mr Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under president Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr Blanche.

Abortion rights concerns

Reproductive health advocates warned that Blanche's confirmation threatens abortion access. Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, called the confirmation "a red alert for reproductive rights." Leaked audio obtained by Politico captured Blanche vowing to make the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning the right to abortion "permanent in every single state." The Justice Department told The Independent the comments concerned mail-order abortion drugs, not broader federal control over states. Gowri Buddiga of the group Free & Just said Blanche had "openly vowed to use that power to ban abortion."

Democratic opposition and what comes next

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans had "handed Trump an excuse on a silver platter" to continue what he called "pervasive, breathtaking corruption."

If you want to wipe out corruption, you can't have the president's personal attorney as the attorney general. You don't need a PhD in political science to know that.

The Justice Department faces charging decisions in politically sensitive cases. Prosecutors in Florida have been working on what Trump allies call a "grand conspiracy" investigation of former Obama- and Biden-era officials, including former CIA director John Brennan, who denies the allegations. Blanche, who was in Colombia on Friday leading the US delegation to the inauguration of Abelardo De la Espriella as head of state, said on social media he was "deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me."