Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general nominated to lead the Department of Justice, arrives to testify for his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 15, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche touted Justice Department achievements under the second Trump administration at the outset of his potentially volatile Senate confirmation hearing.

“Murders are down roughly 20 percent nationwide. We have the lowest murder rate since 1900. Violent crime arrests are up nearly 114 percent,” Blanche said.

“We’ve taken almost 5,000 child predators and human traffickers off the streets, and the Department of Justice has filed nearly 100,000 indictments.”

Homicides also plummeted 60 percent in the District of Columbia and 40 percent in Memphis, he added, following President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to bolster law enforcement in those cities.

Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is tackling a rash of medical benefit fraud that began with the COVID-19 pandemic, something he called “absolute thievery.”

“Individuals just stealing, setting up entire centers for autism when there are no patients, when there is no center, and taking millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayers’ money. And so we are very focused on that,” Blanche said.

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He also said the Department has clawed back billions in fraudulently obtained funds.

His comments followed an opening statement by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) questioning whether his appointment represents a conflict of interest.

“When you were first nominated to be deputy attorney general, Democrats raised concerns about the president’s personal attorney serving as the top attorney in the Justice Department,” Durbin said.

“Since you were confirmed [as Deputy Attorney General], the Department of Justice has literally violated dozens of court orders to advance the president’s agenda.”

Judges such as D.C. Chief District Judge James Boasberg have sought to pursue contempt charges against the DOJ for violating court orders.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) referenced a Florida judge’s criticism of the Justice Department’s settlement with Trump after he sued the IRS when his tax returns were leaked.

That settlement resulted in the creation of a more than $1.7 billion fund to compensate victims of “weaponization” of the federal government. The government eventually abandoned the planned fund.

Whitehouse also probed Blanche about allegations that former border czar Tom Homan accepted a bribe.

“The public reporting is that the FBI reported giving $50,000 in the nature of a bribe to Tom Homan, and there’s been no report of what became of that $50,000,” Whitehouse said. “We’ve been asking for a long time now. Your department certainly knows what’s happening.”

“I know nothing about it,” Blanche said.

Opponents of Blanche’s confirmation also accused him of gutting oversight agencies and allowing the DOJ to be weaponized against Trump’s political opponents.

“I wish you'd spare me the outrage,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa ) told his Democratic colleagues. “They cheered on Biden as he weaponized the Justice Department, targeting President Trump, congressional Republicans, parents, Catholics, and conservative Americans nationwide.”

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