The U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a vote held early Saturday morning, placing President Donald Trump's former personal attorney at the helm of a Justice Department the Republican president has sought to bend to his will.

The Republican-led chamber voted 50–49 to confirm Blanche, making him the second confirmed attorney general since Trump returned to the White House last year with a stated desire to use the law enforcement agency to investigate his political adversaries. Although Blanche had already been leading the department in an acting capacity, his confirmation positions him to pursue the Trump administration's agenda with greater latitude.

Blanche said on social media that he was "deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me," adding that he was "grateful" to senators for working late to confirm him.

The vote brought an end to a contentious confirmation battle that revealed deep concerns — shared by some Republicans as well as Democrats — about placing one of Trump's closest allies atop a Justice Department that has historically prided itself on independence from the White House, a tradition reinforced by post-Watergate reforms intended to insulate charging decisions from political pressure. Ultimately, Blanche was confirmed by the narrowest possible margin, with two Republicans — Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joining every Democrat in opposition.

The road to confirmation was unusually turbulent, driven in large part by Republican unease over a controversial settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.

Under mounting pressure, Blanche made a written public commitment that the department would abandon Trump's proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for the president's allies — including individuals who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — and would curtail another component of the settlement designed to shield Trump and his family from IRS tax audits.

His written assurances were enough to win the backing of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who emerged as the decisive vote when he threw his support behind Blanche on Friday morning. Cassidy argued that no other nominee could run the department more effectively under Trump and suggested that Blanche's experience as Trump's former criminal defense lawyer could make him better positioned to push back on the president's demands.

"This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche in very specific circumstances," said Cassidy, who lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called confirming Blanche a "serious mistake" and urged his colleagues not to end up on the "wrong side" of history.

"If there is ever a moment in history when we need an Attorney General above reproach, who is clearly dedicated to ending corruption, even at the highest level of our government, it's right now," Durbin said.

The vote concluded a bruising confirmation fight in which Blanche's loyalty to Trump remained the central point of contention.

Blanche was elevated to the top Justice Department role in an acting capacity after Trump dismissed Pam Bondi in April. He moved swiftly to advance the president's priorities, accelerating investigations into individuals perceived as Trump's enemies and announcing the settlement that established the $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — intended to compensate people who believe they were mistreated by the criminal justice system — while also granting Trump and his family members immunity from IRS tax audits.

That controversial settlement nearly derailed Blanche's nomination until he formally rescinded the fund in writing under pressure from Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The agreement reached between the senators and the department cleared the way for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which advanced Blanche's nomination earlier this week.

Even after the deal, Blanche continued to face opposition from some Republican senators who remained troubled by the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and the tax audit immunity provision. Murkowski announced early Friday that she would join Collins in voting against Blanche, stating that the country needs an attorney general "who will check the worst impulses of this administration."

A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche rose to public prominence as a lead attorney on Trump's defense team, including during the president's hush money trial in New York. He also defended Trump against criminal charges in the two federal cases brought by the Biden administration's Department of Justice — an experience Blanche has said gave him a firsthand view of what he characterizes as the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

Blanche entered the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general under Bondi, overseeing the agency's day-to-day operations and serving as the public face for high-profile and controversial matters, including the release of millions of investigative files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Democrats have accused Blanche of placing his loyalty to Trump above all else, pointing to investigations targeting Trump adversaries such as former FBI Director James Comey and what they describe as a radical restructuring of the department. Under the leadership of Bondi and Blanche, the department has lost thousands of employees through firings, resignations, or voluntary departures, draining decades of prosecutorial experience from its career ranks.

Blanche's supporters counter that his track record as a federal prosecutor and the trust he earned from Trump in the courtroom make him better equipped than Bondi to explain to the White House the legal constraints of its demands. Republicans have also highlighted his efforts to reduce violent crime, address illegal immigration, and combat violent cartels and drug trafficking.

Senator Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, delivered a full-throated endorsement of Blanche ahead of the vote, stating that he has led the Justice Department with distinction. "Mr. Blanche is the right choice," Grassley said.

It remains uncertain, however, whether Blanche will achieve greater success than Bondi in delivering on Trump's desire for retribution. Bondi was fired amid resistance from judges, grand jurors, and the department's own workforce, as prosecutors sought to establish criminal conduct against one Trump adversary after another.

Shortly after Blanche assumed the top role, the Justice Department moved to indict Comey on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a social media photograph of seashells arranged in the numerical pattern "86 47." Comey's legal team is seeking to have the case dismissed, accusing the department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements, and withholding key facts.

Blanche has also appointed Joseph diGenova, a former Justice Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the past decade to undermine Trump. Whether that probe will produce any criminal charges remains unclear.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com: https://fortune.com/2026/08/08/senate-confirmation-todd-blanche-attorney-general-vote-margin-trump/