President Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via NPR

Politics
President Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general

June 4, 2026 1:50 AM ET
By The Associated Press


Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before the House Appropriations Committee, Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Washington.
Allison Robbert/AP

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.

Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide. ... "We are going to make him permanent attorney general," Trump said at the Rose Garden event.

Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favorite for the permanent job after Pam Bondi's firing in April, accelerating investigations into Trump foes and announcing a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the president's allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea earlier this week in an extraordinary about-face.

Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and was elevated after Bondi's ousting over her failed efforts to prosecute Trump's perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he wasn't auditioning for the permanent post but made clear through splashy moves since taking the reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5846307/trump-todd-blanche-ag

[underpants]

1. Who wants this job right now!

Yes, I’m sure many people inside the DOJ (of those still left) and outside would like having AG on their resume but….under Trump? It’s clearly no longer an independent position as it’s supposed to be. The AG is at the whim and will of Trump or they get fired.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

10. The only thing Blanche is looking at is $$$,$$$.$$$.00...

... either now or sometime later. And his need for, "legitimacy". There are only so many things that acting heads of departments can do as set by precedent and/or laws and codes.

[PJMcK]

2. Okay, Republicans

Will you finally stand up to Trump’s corruption?

Stop Blanche.

[Chasstev365]

3. Democrats better frame this correctly if he's confirmed.

Don't spout on about Trump's corrupt AG; state loudly and clearly:
REPUBLICANS ALLOWED ALL OF TRUMP'S CORRUPTION!

They know exactly who Todd Blanche is, but still confirmed him to be the nation's highest legal enforcer anyway. Everything Trump does and gets away with is because the Republican party goes along with it! The voters have a chance to say ENOUGH and vote all Republicans out of office in November 2026!

[Dave Bowman]

4. And the circus continues.

[Harker]

5. I blanche at the thought of it.

[Mr.Bee]

6. What is the job of the Attorney General?

An attorney general serves as the chief legal advisor and primary law enforcement officer for a government, acting at either the federal (national) or state level. They lead the corresponding Department of Justice (DOJ) and represent the public's interests in court.
Federal Representation: Acts as the principal lawyer for the United States, representing the government in all major legal matters and civil suits.
Executive Counsel: Provides official legal advice to the President and the heads of executive departments.
Law Enforcement Oversight: Directs federal law enforcement agencies—including the FBI, DEA, and ATF—and supervises federal prosecutors (U.S. Attorneys) across the country.

He is the Primary Law Enforcement Officer for a government. Not The President's personal attorney.
The President (the Executive Branch) is only 1/3 of the government, NOT The Government.
They represent the public's interests in court. Not the president's.
The president is not a king, and the Attorney General is not his Lawyer.

[kimbutgar]

7. The only person Blanche will represent is the 🍊💩🐖 not the American people!

We need an AJ who represent the people not a DICKtator!

[republianmushroom]

8. Christ, from one douche bag to another for the last 10 years.

[sop]

9. Blanche's confirmation hearing will be a real spectacle, there will be blood on the floor of the Senate.

An exact date for the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing hasn't been scheduled yet, I hope it's just before the election. Democrats had better take advantage of this opportunity.

[Aviation Pro]

11. Every single fucking question

Should contain a reference to EPSTEIN.

[dalton99a]

12. +1

[lonely bird]

13. If the Republicans approve him

They are killing themselves

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. MaddowBlog-Being Trump's attorney general is an awful job. Todd Blanche apparently doesn't care.

Blanche has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be the American people’s attorney general; he wants to be Trump’s attorney general.

Trump has clashed with so many AGs (Bondi, Barr, Sessions, Yates). Why is Blanche different? They agree on what an AG should be: part puppet, part weapon, and part cheerleader.

Blanche doesn’t want to be our attorney general; he wants to be Trump’s attorney general. Those are 2 very different jobs.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-06-09T17:40:46.759Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-attorney-general-awful-job-blanche

Trump likely believes he’ll have better luck with his latest choice. MS NOW reported:

President Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated his longtime loyalist and former personal defense lawyer Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general permanently.

Blanche has been serving as the nation’s top prosecutor in an acting capacity after Pam Bondi was fired by Trump in April. Blanche was Bondi’s deputy at the time. The nomination has been sent to the Senate.

Since becoming the acting attorney general, Blanche went to almost cartoonish lengths to use his office in ways designed to please the White House, up to and including indicting people the president doesn’t like. Trump, not surprisingly, was delighted. Whether senators are equally impressed remains to be seen, though there’s no reason to assume that his confirmation will be easy.

Stepping back, however, there’s the related question of why Blanche actually wants this job.....

The president, in other words, expects an attorney general who’s part puppet, part weapon and part cheerleader. Those serious about the rule of law and apolitical ethical limits need not apply.

I’ve seen some analyses that have described the office under Trump as “an impossible job,” largely because no one can be quite pathetic enough to satiate all of the president’s whims and demands. It’s a fair point, to be sure, but that’s what makes Blanche’s nomination inherently interesting: He, unlike guys such as Sessions and Barr, doesn’t actually want to lead the DOJ or oversee federal law enforcement; Blanche simply wants to serve Trump.

In other words, Blanche might very well be the first and only attorney general Trump actually gets along with because he and the president share a common view of the office. By tradition, those in this role strive to be “the people’s lawyer.” The president’s new nominee has no such ambitions: His goal is to serve one American, not 340 million Americans.

Blanche has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t want to be the American people’s attorney general; he wants to be Trump’s attorney general. Is it any wonder why the president is optimistic about his choice?

I believe that Blanche will be disbarred. Blanche and the DOJ want to strip State Bar Associations of jurisdiction of trump stooges. That is not going to work

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Deadline Legal Blog-One word in a judge's opinion sums up why Todd Blanche shouldn't be attorney general

In the ruling dismissing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s indictment as vindictive, the judge deemed Blanche’s investigation “tainted.”

One word in a judge’s opinion sums up why Todd Blanche shouldn’t be attorney general

In the ruling dismissing Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s indictment as vindictive, the judge deemed Blanche’s investigation “tainted.” www.ms.now/deadline-whi...

— US News Now - World’s leading Liberal Voice (@democracyblue.bsky.social) 2026-06-10T13:56:45.465Z

https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/why-todd-blanche-not-attorney-general

There’s more than one reason that Todd Blanche should not be attorney general of the United States. You’ll be hearing plenty about them in the days and weeks ahead, following President Donald Trump’s nomination of his former criminal defense lawyer to lead the Department of Justice.

One way to view the nominee is through a single word: “tainted.”

That’s how a judge described Blanche’s investigation into Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who became a prime target of the administration’s crudely incompetent deportation regime last year. The Trump-controlled government illegally sent Abrego to El Salvador in violation of a court order, then resisted additional court orders for his return, and then finally secured his return but only to greet him with an indictment that a judge recently dismissed as unconstitutionally vindictive.

It’s rare for judges to grant vindictive prosecution motions, but the actions of Blanche and his colleagues made it possible. Indeed, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw emphasized that he didn’t reach the conclusion “lightly” in his ruling last month.

But in dismissing the charges of illegally transporting undocumented immigrants, to which Abrego had pleaded not guilty, Crenshaw wrote that “absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit challenging his removal to El Salvador, the Government would not have brought this prosecution.” The Obama-appointed judge recalled that the government had closed its investigation into the Tennessee traffic stop at the center of the case in 2022. It was only reopened after Abrego succeeded in vindicating his right to remedy his illegal removal.....

In fact, Crenshaw’s dismissal ruling was only made possible by his previous finding that Abrego could proceed with discovery into potential vindictiveness. Blanche played a starring role in that incremental ruling last year, where Crenshaw wrote, “Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s remarkable statements could directly establish that the motivations for Abrego’s criminal charges stem from his exercise of his constitutional and statutory rights to bring suit against the Executive Official Defendants, rather than a genuine desire to prosecute him for alleged criminal misconduct.”

Therefore, Blanche has not only acted as an instrument for Trump’s revenge but has done so in a manner that has thwarted that revenge’s success. To be sure, Blanche is a competent attorney, but he has chosen what might be termed a “tainted” path. If the GOP-controlled Senate confirms him to the top job full time, then a microscopically dim silver lining could be that his continued service to Trump will result in further fumbles.

Blanche is a disgrace to the legal profession. I personally believe that Blanche will be disbarred or severely sanctioned for his actions. Blanche should not be confirmed at Attorney General