US Senate Confirms Todd Blanche as Attorney General in Narrow Vote
On Saturday, the US Senate confirmed Todd Blanche, former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, as Attorney General with a 50-49 vote, ending one of the most contentious cabinet confirmation processes in Trump’s second term.
In the vote, two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, opposed Blanche’s nomination. Bill Cassidy’s vote was decisive after he stated that he considered Blanche the best nominee proposed by Trump.
This decision resolved a weeks-long deadlock between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration over Blanche’s confirmation. Blanche had served as acting Attorney General since April and previously held the position of second-in-command at the Department of Justice.
During the confirmation hearings, several Republican senators expressed concerns about Blanche’s handling of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his role in establishing an $1.8 billion fund known as the “anti-arming” fund and in negotiating a tax immunity agreement related to Trump and his family.
However, some Republicans emphasized that Blanche, with nearly a decade of experience as a prosecutor in New York, was a more acceptable candidate among Trump’s possible nominees. Blanche had previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer in the hush-money case connected to an extramarital affair.
