Trump wants his former defense lawyer leading the Justice Department
President Donald Trump says he plans to nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the role permanently on Thursday. Blanche was tapped to be the Acting Attorney General in April, when Trump fired Pam Bondi and elevated him from Deputy Attorney General.
Before joining the administration, Blanche was one of President Trump’s personal defense attorneys and represented him in several high-profile criminal cases.
The president announced his plans during a private event at the White House on Tuesday, predicting a quick confirmation process.
“He’s Acting Attorney General and tomorrow, I’m instructing Dan [Scavino] and everybody else that’s involved in that very complicated process — which is gonna go, I think, very quickly — that we are going to make him permanent Attorney General,” Trump said.
President Trump with an announcement tonight at the @WhiteHouse…
Congratulations @TheJusticeDept @DAGToddBlanche—
pic.twitter.com/7C7N0Gjall
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) June 4, 2026
If confirmed by the Senate, Blanche would take over the job after just over a month as Acting Attorney General. Lawmakers confirmed him for the Deputy AG job in a 52-46 vote along party lines last year.
Blanche’s leadershp, so far
His nomination comes days after the Justice Department abandoned plans for a controversial $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund that had drawn criticism from both parties on Capitol Hill. Blanche scrapped that plan earlier this week following a court order temporarily blocking it from being implemented.
Also under Blanche’s leadership, the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a picture he posted on social media, showing seashells arranged to say “86 47.” The Trump administration argues the post threatened Trump’s, the 47th president’s, life because “86” is a term used in restaurants to indicate getting rid of something. Comey denies it was a threat.
The DOJ and FBI also announced a federal indictment last month against Cuba’s former president, Raúl Castro, the brother of late longtime Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Castro, 94, faces charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft, all in connection with the downing of two Miami-based civilian aircraft in 1996.
Round out your reading
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
