President Donald Trump has formally nominated Todd Blanche, his former personal criminal defence lawyer, to serve permanently as United States attorney general — the country's top law enforcement officer — setting the stage for a contentious Senate confirmation battle. The White House submitted the nomination on Monday, formalising what Trump had telegraphed the previous week during a private event at the Rose Garden, where he announced plans to make Blanche a permanent cabinet member. Blanche, who has been serving in an interim capacity since early April, responded warmly: "Whenever President Trump nominates you, it is an honour — the honour of a lifetime."

Blanche's path to this moment runs directly through Trump's legal troubles. He became a central figure in Trump's inner circle in 2023 when the then-former president faced four criminal indictments, including one related to hush-money payments made to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump was ultimately convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records — the first sitting or former US president to be convicted of a crime — though he received an unconditional discharge carrying no fine or prison sentence. Blanche led his defence throughout that trial. He was subsequently confirmed as deputy attorney general in March 2024 in a party-line 52–46 Senate vote, before stepping up to the interim attorney general role following the abrupt dismissal of his predecessor, Pam Bondi, in April. Bondi's departure was widely linked to her handling of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case, which had become a political liability for Trump.

Blanche's tenure as interim attorney general has been marked by a series of deeply controversial decisions that have drawn bipartisan criticism. He oversaw a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit Trump had filed against the Internal Revenue Service — a body within his own executive branch — that granted Trump and his family immunity from future tax audits and established a $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate people who claim they were prosecuted for political reasons. Blanche also declined to rule out using that fund to compensate participants in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol who assaulted police officers, before later telling Congress the fund was "not moving forward" amid backlash from both parties. The Justice Department under his watch also filed a second indictment against James Comey, a Trump critic and former FBI director, over a social media image of seashells arranged to spell "86 47" — a case widely condemned as an attack on First Amendment free speech rights.

The nomination now faces a fractious Senate. Republicans hold a narrow 53-seat majority, and while confirmation requires only a simple majority, there are signs of internal dissent. Senator Thom Tillis has stated he wants Blanche to explicitly condemn the January 6 rioters who attacked law enforcement as a condition of his vote. Senate Judiciary Committee member Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and former federal prosecutor, argued that Blanche "has been unable to put aside his role as Donald Trump's criminal defence lawyer and represent the American people instead," citing the IRS settlement, the Comey indictment, and the controversial anti-weaponisation fund. Other Democrats were equally forceful. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, however, offered his support, describing Blanche as having shown "commitment to transparency and support for law enforcement."

The nomination also carries procedural significance. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, interim officeholders are generally capped at 210 days in post. With Blanche having served around 67 days since April, formally submitting a nominee to the Senate legally allows the administration to extend the interim period, buying time regardless of how quickly the confirmation process proceeds. Whether enough Republican senators will ultimately back Blanche — or whether his record in the role proves too divisive — remains the central question facing the nomination.