RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Topline Todd Blanche will be formally sworn in Monday as attorney general following a contentious confirmation process, and he now faces a series of legal cases and potential actions that will test the AG’s ability to act independently of President Donald Trump—as numerous senators expressed concern Trump’s onetime defense attorney is still filling that role.
Blanche will be formally sworn in as attorney general Monday after being confirmed in the Senate in a 50-49 vote, allowing Blanche to keep the job permanently after being acting AG following predecessor Pam Bondi’s ouster.
Blanche joined Trump’s Justice Department after serving as the president’s personal attorney during his years out of office, most notably representing Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan.
Democrats have accused Blanche of favoring loyalty to Trump over the rule of law, with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., arguing at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing the attorney “continues to operate as the president’s personal lawyer.”
The new AG faces numerous issues at DOJ that deal heavily with Trump and could call for Blanche to either fall in line with Trump’s priorities or act in ways the president might not like.
Those issues include the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, ongoing litigation over Trump’s settlement with the IRS, prosecutions of Trump’s political enemies, litigation over Trump’s White House ballroom and election lawsuits ahead of the November midterms.
Blanche, for his part, has said he’ll follow the Constitution but has not said he’ll act independently of the president, saying during his Senate confirmation hearing the DOJ is “part of the executive” branch and he would be subject to dismissal by Trump if confirmed.
When asked during his confirmation hearing about whether he was independent from Trump—based on the DOJ’s historic independence from the White House—Blanche responded by saying the DOJ “certainly operate[s] with integrity” and exists to “serve the American people and do the right thing.” The then-nominee then added, however, that if confirmed, “I will be a member of the Cabinet … and President Trump can fire me whenever he wants.” Blanche suggested he was unafraid to push back on Trump if needed, saying, “President Trump trusts me to give him counsel,” but “counsel does not mean I’m a yes man.” He raised eyebrows for an apparent slip during his testimony, when Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked if he was friends with Trump. Blanche first responded, “I am his lawyer” before quickly correcting himself to say he “was his lawyer.”
$9.8 million. That’s how much Trump, through his Save America PAC, has paid Blanche’s law firm in legal fees, according to federal records . The PAC made payments from April 2023 through February 2025, when Blanche Law was paid $543,711 shortly after Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s Save America PAC has been used to pay the president’s lawyers for their work in his personal legal battles, and that $9.8 million would have gone to other attorneys and staff at Blanche’s firm in addition to him.
As deputy attorney general and acting attorney general, Blanche has long faced criticism for his handling of the Epstein files. Bondi has testified Blanche was responsible for how the documents were released to the public—a process that’s garnered widespread criticism, given issues with victim identities not being properly redacted—and Epstein’s victims have accused Blanche of not sufficiently listening to their concerns. Blanche is set to appear in court Thursday for a hearing over whether the DOJ must release some unredacted Epstein documents, as well as additional documents covering unsubstantiated allegations against Trump. The DOJ has so far fought the documents’ release, though it did turn over materials to be privately reviewed by the court. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan scheduled a hearing to discuss several issues with the arguments that the DOJ has made in court, with the judge noting Blanche didn’t provide proper documentation showing the redactions at issue hide victims’ names, hasn’t explained why the government can’t redact handwritten notes, and hasn’t yet followed the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s provision requiring the DOJ to submit a log justifying every single redaction. Blanche’s posture during the Thursday hearing could be telling, as the AG could continue to harshly fight the documents’ disclosure, or could be more amenable to turning some materials over, even when they deal directly with the president.
The main issue that briefly threatened Blanche’s confirmation was his signing and subsequent defense of Trump’s settlement of a lawsuit against the IRS, which included a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate political allies and an agreement that broadly shielded the president and his affiliates from legal action from the government. Blanche has said the $1.8 billion fund is “dead” after even GOP lawmakers slammed it, and issued an order saying the fund was not moving forward in response to concerns from Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., ahead of his committee confirmation vote. He also issued a written statement narrowing the scope of the immunity deal to specify it only shields Trump, his eldest sons and the Trump Organization from legal action by the IRS and Treasury Department based on actions they’ve already taken and tax returns that have already been filed. Blanche’s orders aren’t legally binding under the terms of the settlement, though—as it can only be modified with the written agreement of all the parties, which didn’t happen—and Democrats have expressed fears Blanche could simply issue a new order and bring back the anti-weaponization fund after being sworn in. It remains to be seen how Blanche will handle the issue as AG, and whether payouts to political allies, including Jan. 6 rioters, could still take place—whether by reviving this fund or creating a new one.
The DOJ has launched numerous investigations i...
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