Todd Blanche has shown an uncommon knack for playing to the “audience of one” — navigating the famously mercurial President Donald Trump with more ease than most.
But now, with Trump poised to nominate him as attorney general, he’s at the mercy of an audience of 100 — and roughly half of them are already mad at him.
Blanche’s white-collar pedigree, relatively apolitical background and limited ties to the MAGA universe helped him win Senate confirmation as deputy attorney general in March 2025, despite some initial skepticism of Trump’s former personal criminal defense lawyer. But with the ouster of his predecessor Pam Bondi in April, and Blanche’s rush to appease Trump’s desires to deploy the Justice Department against his adversaries, the calculus for Senate confirmation has shifted. The White House, though, appears comfortable with the risk.
While Blanche could have remained in the role in an acting capacity virtually indefinitely, a Trump administration official pointed out that seeking confirmation is useful for the “stability, leadership and vision” for the department and “sends a clear message that Todd is the best person for the job and stops any more ‘palace intrigue’ games by others who have been jockeying to be the nominee.”
A person close to the White House, who like others in this article was granted anonymity to speak candidly, expressed confidence that Blanche can be confirmed, pointing out that he has been confirmed once before and “he’s a solid lawyer that’s proven he can work with Congress.”
Blanche’s first confirmation came against a relatively blank slate. Since then, he spearheaded the troubled release of the Epstein files and the interview of Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. He hit the gas on a widely criticized criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey over a seashell arrangement prosecutors labeled a threat to Trump. And most recently, he unfurled — then backtracked on — an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that appeared aimed at shoveling taxpayer-funded payouts to allies of the president, including people convicted for attacking police at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Several Republican senators have rebuked efforts to establish the fund. Sen Bill Cassidy called it “an immediate and dire threat to our constitutional order.” Those comments by the Louisiana Republican in a court filing seeking to permanently block the fund underscored increasing Senate GOP unease with Blanche’s handling of the matter. Cassidy and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) were recently ousted by Trump-backed challengers in GOP primaries and are no longer tethered to Trump’s loyalty tests. And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has also emerged as a vocal critic of the “anti-weaponization” fund, is retiring.
Several Senate Republicans are also facing tough reelection fights this year, including Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Jon Husted of Ohio.
On Thursday, after Trump publicly signaled his intention to nominate Blanche, the acting attorney general nodded to the confirmation challenge ahead.
“I will work with the senators. I have good relationships with the Senate on both sides,” he told reporters, adding: “I don’t say no to phone calls. I’ll meet with anybody who wants to meet with me.”
Blanche has his detractors outside Capitol Hill too, particularly from some corners of Trump’s MAGA base who have viewed the president’s former personal lawyer skeptically as a result of his thin political resume. Laura Loomer, a Trump ally who has successfully lobbied to oust administration officials she has deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump, recently labeled Blanche a “hardcore Democrat” and said it was “imperative” that he not become attorney general.
But in this case, her warnings appear to be falling flat.
Blanche’s trajectory to the most powerful law enforcement position in America is a direct result of his ability to cultivate loyalty from a president who demands it unconditionally but doesn’t always return it in equal measure. His personal relationship with Trump was forged in criminal courtrooms, when the president was at the lowest ebb of his power and greatest legal peril.
During his New York criminal trial, Trump became enamored of Blanche’s ability to articulate Trump’s deeply-felt grievances about the case, the judge and the legal system as a whole.
Blanche’s standing in Trump’s eyes doesn’t seem to have been tarnished by the fact that the trial ended with a jury finding Trump guilty on 34 felony counts, making him the first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Myah Ward and Diana Nerozzi contributed to this report.
