President Donald Trump has announced he will nominate Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general of the United States, to lead the Department of Justice (DOJ) on a permanent basis. Trump made the announcement at a White House dinner on Wednesday, with a video posted by a senior aide capturing him saying, "We are going to make him permanent attorney general." Blanche, 51, would require confirmation from the Senate before taking on the role officially — a process Trump predicted would go "very quickly."

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York's Southern District, first came to public prominence as Trump's personal lawyer, defending the president in a range of high-profile cases — including federal prosecutions related to the alleged retention of classified documents after Trump's first term and alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, in line with DOJ policy not to prosecute sitting presidents. Blanche joined the DOJ as deputy attorney general and was elevated to the acting top role in April, after Trump dismissed his predecessor, Pam Bondi.

Since taking over, Blanche has moved aggressively to advance the administration's priorities, though not without controversy. His most significant stumble was a proposed "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — a nearly $1.8 billion scheme intended to compensate people who claim they were unjustly targeted by law enforcement under previous administrations. The proposal drew bipartisan criticism, including from Republican senators whose votes Blanche will now need for confirmation, partly over concerns that participants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot could qualify for payments. Facing a political firestorm, Blanche confirmed before lawmakers this week that the fund had been scrapped entirely. The DOJ under Blanche has also pursued the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over a social media post, a case critics call politically motivated.

Blanche's nomination has arrived alongside fresh scrutiny over the DOJ's handling of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Testifying before the House oversight committee, former attorney general Bondi stated that Blanche was "in charge" of the "entire release" of the Epstein files — a characterisation that drew pushback from Democrats who said she was shifting blame onto her successor. Bondi later disputed that framing on social media, praising Blanche's management of what she called a "Herculean task." A transcript of the testimony, however, showed Bondi clearly delegating responsibility to Blanche for overseeing the document review. Lawmakers on the committee are now calling for Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to testify as part of the investigation.

The nomination of Blanche — a close Trump ally who has consistently defended the administration against accusations of politicising the DOJ — sets up what is likely to be a contentious Senate confirmation process. Critics argue he has continued to act as the president's personal lawyer rather than as an independent prosecutor; supporters say he is correcting what they describe as past abuses by the Biden administration. How senators weigh his record, particularly the "anti-weaponization" episode and the Epstein file controversy, will likely define his path to confirmation.