President Trump plans to formally nominate Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, to lead the Justice Department. The nomination paperwork is expected to be submitted on Thursday.
Confirmation of Blanche would maintain leadership of the Justice Department under Trump's former criminal defense attorney, who has been involved in various legal actions, including fighting judges and indicting former FBI director James Comey.
Trump announced his nomination in a video posted by deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino on Wednesday. In the video, Trump stated, "We are going to make him permanent attorney general," and indicated that the nomination process would begin the following day.
Blanche's nomination comes shortly after he faced challenges regarding a nearly $1.8 billion fund aimed at compensating individuals who claimed wrongful targeting by the government. After Senate Republicans expressed concerns, particularly about payouts to January 6 rioters, Trump decided to terminate the fund. However, Blanche stated that the settlement's provisions would still prevent the IRS from auditing Trump's past tax returns.
Blanche previously served as Trump's criminal defense attorney during his 2024 hush money conviction and has been acting Attorney General since Trump replaced Pam Bondi in April. He had been confirmed as deputy attorney general last year with a 52-46 vote, which was along party lines.