President Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney
general
[June 04, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will
nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former
personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president’s
agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.
Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate
Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted
on social media by a White House aide.
“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the
Rose Garden event.
Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favorite for the
permanent job after Pam Bondi’s firing in April, accelerating
investigations into Trump foes and announcing a nearly $1.8 billion fund
meant to compensate the president’s allies for alleged political
persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that
forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea earlier this week in an
extraordinary about-face.
Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney
general and was elevated after Bondi’s ousting over her failed efforts
to prosecute Trump’s perceived political opponents. Blanche insisted he
wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post but made clear through splashy
moves since taking the reins his intent on proving his loyalty to Trump.
Blanche’s actions have outraged Democrats and other critics who accuse
him of still acting like Trump’s personal lawyer to carry out the
president’s campaign of retribution. The $1.776 billion
“Anti-Weaponization Fund” also prompted backlash from Republicans in the
Senate whose support Blanche will now need in order to be confirmed as
attorney general.
While Blanche has maintained he feels no pressure from the president,
the Justice Department under his watch has advanced its pursuits of
longtime Trump foes. Blanche has strongly rejected accusations that the
Trump administration has politicized the Justice Department and has said
he is focused on correcting what he contends were past abuses by the
Biden administration.
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in April over a social
media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said
constituted a threat the president. Comey, who has slammed the case as
politically motivated, has said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Justice
Department pursues additional indictments against him.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before the House
Appropriations Committee, Tuesday, June 2, 2026 in Washington. (AP
Photo/Allison Robbert)
Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old 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 last
decade to undermine Trump.
He came under intense scrutiny last month over the proposed
“Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which the administration said was meant
to compensate people who feel they’ve been unjustly investigated and
prosecuted under past administrations. The fund sparked outrage over
the possibility that violent offenders who participated in the Jan.
6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot could be considered for payments — which
Blanche refused to publicly rule out.
Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday the Justice Department would not
move forward with the plan after the political blowback stalled
legislation to fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies.
A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche came to public
prominence for his lead role on Trump’s defense team, including
during the Republican’s hush money trial in New York. That perch
afforded him, he has said, a firsthand look at what he contends was
the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this
report.
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