US President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, has been narrowly confirmed as the United States attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official, following a closely contested Senate vote on Saturday, August 8th, 2026.

The confirmation vote ended a prolonged standoff between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration. Blanche, who had been serving as acting attorney general since April, won confirmation by a 50-49 margin. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, joined all Democrats in opposing his nomination. Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote, a choice closely observed in Washington due to his past acrimony with Trump, including voting to convict Trump during his second impeachment in 2021 over the January 6 Capitol riot.

Concerns raised by some Republican senators during the confirmation process included Blanche's handling of the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and his involvement in establishing Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponisation" fund. This fund was intended to compensate individuals alleging government persecution, but critics, including Murkowski, feared it might benefit those prosecuted for participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. Following pushback, Blanche pledged to scale back the fund.

Collins also expressed reservations about Blanche's role in settling Trump's $10 billion lawsuit with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) but ultimately trusted him to provide candid legal advice to the president.

After the vote, Blanche stated he was "deeply honoured by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me."

Sources