Topline
President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening said he intends to nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to officially take over the role of heading the Justice Department, two months after former Attorney General Pam Bondi resigned.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks as US President Donald Trump listens during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Trump announced his plan to nominate his former personal attorney to the top DOJ role during a White House dinner on Wednesday evening, according to a clip posted by deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino.
In the clip shared on X, Trump says that on Thursday, he’s instructing Scavino and others to begin the process of nominating Blanche as the “permanent attorney general.”
Blanche has served as acting Attorney General since Bondi’s resignation in April.
Blanche has not yet publicly commented on the president’s plan to nominate him, but he had previously pushed back against assertions that he was auditioning for the role following Bondi’s exit.
What To Watch For
Blanche’s nomination will need to be confirmed by the Senate, where he faced questioning just weeks earlier over the DOJ’s decision to settle Trump’s case against the IRS. The now-defunct plan to set up a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” as part of the settlement, drew backlash from some GOP lawmakers, whose support Blance will need to secure the nomination.