President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has served in an acting leadership role at the Justice Department.
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.
Following Pam Bondi’s firing in April, Blanche advanced several ongoing investigations and announced a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate individuals the administration said were subjected to political persecution.
Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and was elevated after Bondi’s ousting. Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post but has taken a series of high-profile actions since assuming the role.
Blanche’s actions have drawn criticism from Democrats and others who argue that his decisions reflect his prior role as Trump’s personal lawyer.
The $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” also prompted criticism 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 investigations involving several longtime Trump critics and opponents. 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 to the president. Comey, who has called the case politically motivated, has said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Justice Department pursues additional indictments against him.
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 faced 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 prompted criticism over the possibility that individuals convicted in connection with 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 opposition to the proposal contributed to delays in legislation funding 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.