President Trump elevated Todd Blanche to acting attorney general in April 2026, after ousting Attorney General Pam Bondi, and formally nominated him for the permanent job in June. Blanche's path was unusual: he spent years as Trump's personal criminal defense attorney before joining the Justice Department as Deputy AG, then running it. His Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing opened Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM ET. Republicans hold a narrow Senate majority, and the recent death of Sen. Lindsey Graham left the committee with just one Republican vote to spare.

1. He Made the DOJ Effective Again (Sen. Chuck Grassley, 23 State Attorneys General, President Trump)

Blanche's supporters point to falling crime, disrupted terrorist attacks, and a Senate that confirmed him once already.

The murder rate is the lowest it's been since 1900. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opened by citing violent crime arrests up 184% and over 849 individuals disrupted from conducting terrorist attacks under Blanche's leadership. He also noted: "The Senate has already judged your fitness for high office and confirmed you as the department's second in command."

Twenty-three state attorneys general are publicly backing him. A White House release cited 670,000 sworn officers behind Blanche's nomination. Trump called him "PHENOMENAL" and urged every Republican senator to vote to confirm. Twenty-three state AGs issued a joint statement in support.

Errors happened in the Epstein redactions, and the DOJ fixed them. Blanche acknowledged "mistakes that were made" and said the DOJ took the document down and corrected it immediately. He said the anti-weaponization fund "is just not moving forward."

2. But He Made the DOJ Trump's Personal Law Firm (Sen. Dick Durbin, 1,200+ Former DOJ Employees, Epstein Survivors)

Democrats say Blanche is still Trump's lawyer, not the nation's.

A president's personal lawyer can't also be the nation's AG. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told Blanche directly: "You are still President Trump's personal attorney." Durbin accused Blanche of violating court orders and of meeting with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and arranging her prison transfer. He also accused Blanche of purging career officials who refused to prioritize Trump's interests.

The IRS settlement had no legal basis—a federal judge said so. A Miami federal judge issued a scathing order calling Trump's lawsuit against the IRS a suit filed for an "improper purpose" to obtain "judicial legitimacy for a settlement that had no viable basis in law or fact." The deal shielded Trump, his family, and his businesses from IRS audits of their past tax returns. It also included a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. The judge ordered a copy of her ruling sent to the New York State Bar Association, which is already considering an ethics complaint against Blanche.

Over 1,200 former DOJ employees say the Senate shouldn't confirm him. The signers span 14 administrations. Their letter to the Judiciary Committee cited "vindictive prosecutions and investigations of the President's foes," mishandling of the Epstein files, and the "denigration of judges and repeated violations of their orders." It focused particularly on what they called Blanche's "degradation of DOJ's apolitical career workforce." Over 16,000 DOJ employees have left under Blanche, including more than a quarter of its attorneys. Nineteen Epstein survivors released a public statement calling the nomination "failing upward, plain and simple."

The DOJ indicted Comey twice—one count for a seashell photo. Former FBI Director James Comey had posted a photo of shells spelling out "86 47." The NYC Bar Association called the charges "flimsy" and "patently frivolous." A court dismissed one indictment. The DOJ is appealing and pursuing the second.

3. Even Some Republicans Think the IRS Deal Went Too Far (Sens. Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, Reason Magazine)

Some Republicans want to confirm him—but the IRS deal crossed a line even for them.

The IRS settlement is the sticking point—not categorical opposition. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he'd support confirmation pending "satisfactory answers" about the deal. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) separately pressed Blanche on whether written modifications to the settlement exist.

Without those votes, Blanche doesn't get confirmed. With Graham's seat vacant and just one Republican vote to lose in committee, Tillis and Cornyn aren't just asking questions—they're deciding.

Blanche's crime numbers don't answer the corruption charge, even on the right. Reason magazine ran a piece Wednesday calling Blanche disqualified not because Democrats oppose him, but because "by blessing corruption" he's violated the fundamental requirement of the job: impartial pursuit of justice. The magazine argued the IRS deal was self-evidently improper: Trump was both the plaintiff who brought the suit and, as president, in control of the IRS he was suing — so there was no genuine legal controversy to settle.

Where This Lands

Blanche's supporters argue the DOJ is doing what it's supposed to do: the murder rate is at a century low, the DOJ disrupted 849 terrorist attacks, and the Senate already confirmed him once. Democrats say none of that matters if the attorney general answers to a former client rather than the Constitution—they cite the IRS deal, the Comey charges, and the mass exit of career staff as evidence Blanche already crossed that line. The votes that will decide it belong to Tillis, Cornyn, and a handful of other Republicans who want to support Trump's agenda but haven't yet decided whether Blanche's specific record clears the bar.

Sources