Attorney General Todd Blanche was sworn in on Monday after serving in an acting capacity since this spring.
Blanche was narrowly confirmed last week, after all Republicans except for Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted for his nomination, and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was absent due to health reasons.
I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General.
— Attorney General Todd Blanche (@AGToddBlanche) August 8, 2026
I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process.
To the dedicated public servants of the…
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” the Attorney General said in a post on Saturday.
“I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process. To the dedicated public servants of the Department of Justice, thank you for your work each day to uphold the law and keep our country safe,” he continued. “God bless America.”
.@AGToddBlanche has been officially sworn in as the Attorney General of the United States!
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) August 10, 2026
Congratulations to a great lawyer and an even better man!!! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/jbYvb8ibIZ
Blanche has been filling in for former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who left the position in April.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) ended up striking a deal with the Justice Department in order to move his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as they had concerns about the now-scrapped anti-weaponization fund and other parts of President Donald Trump’s IRS settlement.
“Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the Department to live up to this in future litigation and I will vote to advance him out of the committee today,” Cornyn said last week.
Democrats were adamantly opposed to his nomination, including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the committee’s ranking member.
“This is a serious mistake for the Senate to approve Todd Blanche as the next Attorney General,” Durbin said on the Senate floor last week, adding that he “beg[s] [his] colleagues on the other side of the aisle […] don’t be in the history books on the wrong side when it comes to this issue.”
Others were proud to support his confirmation, like Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, who stated that “beyond his obvious qualifications and successful track record, Blanche has demonstrated extraordinary patience, compassion and tenacity as he’s made his way through the gauntlet of the Senate’s advice and consent process.”
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