On Saturday, August 8th, 2026, the U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche, former personal attorney to Donald Trump, as attorney general by a vote of 50 to 49. The confirmation sparked immediate criticism from Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats.

Schumer accused Senate Republicans of handing Trump "an excuse on a silver platter" to continue his "pervasive, breathtaking misconduct" by confirming Blanche. He stated on X that "if you want to wipe out corruption, you can’t have the president’s personal attorney as the attorney general. You don’t need a PhD in political science to know that." Schumer also pledged that Senate Democrats will continue to resist what he described as the Trump administration’s "assault on the rule of law and undermining of democratic values."

New Mexico Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury echoed these concerns, calling Blanche’s confirmation a "dark moment" for the nation’s system of checks and balances. She emphasized the distinction between Blanche being an attorney general who once was Trump’s personal attorney versus being Trump’s personal attorney who is now attorney general.

During his prior roles as deputy and acting attorney general, Blanche’s department indicted former FBI director James Comey twice, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, though experts have described these cases as thin.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Trump, and Senate conservatives agreed to postpone a vote on a budget resolution and defer action on much of the SAVE America Act until after the congressional break.

Sources