Trump Formally Nominates Todd Blanche for Attorney General, Setting Up Senate Battle

President Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, sending his former personal defense lawyer's name to the Senate after Blanche had already run the Justice Department in an acting capacity for more than two months.

Blanche, 51, has led the department since April 2, when Trump abruptly fired Pam Bondi as attorney general. By Monday he had served roughly 67 days in the acting role. Trump asked the Senate to confirm him to the post permanently, a move that had been telegraphed since early June but that nonetheless sets up a contentious confirmation process.

The nomination arrives amid swirling controversy over Blanche's stewardship of the Justice Department. Critics have pointed to a decision under his leadership to grant Trump, his family and the Trump Organization immunity from prosecution or enforcement actions by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with tax returns filed before a contested settlement of Trump's multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the IRS. Democrats have called the arrangement a glaring conflict of interest given Blanche's prior role as Trump's personal attorney.

Blanche has also faced scrutiny over a proposed departmental fund that drew bipartisan criticism. Testifying before a House subcommittee on June 2, he said the Justice Department had permanently abandoned plans for the fund but declined to put that commitment in writing, fueling concerns among lawmakers that the idea could be revived. Some Senate Republicans have chafed in recent weeks at his defense of a settlement fund established through an agreement between the president and his own government.

A former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, Blanche left the U.S. attorney's office to enter private practice and went on to represent Trump in his New York criminal case before joining the administration. Supporters argue his courtroom experience and loyalty make him well suited to lead the department, while detractors say his close personal ties to the president undermine the independence the office is meant to embody.

The confirmation is far from assured. With a narrow majority, Senate Republican leaders can afford only a handful of defections, and a few members have signaled unease about Blanche's record. Democrats are expected to mount a unified opposition and to use confirmation hearings to press him on the IRS immunity deal, the abandoned fund and the broader question of whether the Justice Department under Trump has been politicized. The nominee to succeed Bondi now must navigate a chamber where even his own party is not fully behind him.