Tod Blansh confirmed as U.S. Attorney General
The Senate confirmed his nomination 50 votes "for" and 49 "against"; the 52-year-old now formally leads the Department of Justice.
Tod Blansh, the 52-year-old lawyer who became a central figure in former President Donald Trump’s legal defense, was confirmed as the next U.S. Attorney General after the Senate approved his nomination by a narrow margin.
The chamber voted 50 votes "for" and 49 "against" to confirm Blansh, ending weeks in which he had served as acting head of the Department of Justice. Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined Democrats in opposing the nomination.
From private practice to the helm of the Justice Department
Blansh’s confirmation caps a rapid professional shift: a former federal prosecutor who moved into private practice, then left a partner role at a prominent New York law firm in 2023 to represent Trump in his criminal cases. That decision, which surprised some former colleagues, led to him becoming one of Trump’s most trusted lawyers and representing the former president in three federal indictments.
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, President Trump’s administration elevated Blansh to a leading role in reshaping the Department of Justice. In that period the department opened new proceedings involving political figures — among them former FBI director James Comey — and made personnel changes that included dismissals of experienced prosecutors and long-serving officials.
As Attorney General, Blansh is expected to prioritize pursuing cases the administration frames as responses to alleged political misuse of the Justice Department against Trump and his allies. Other stated priorities include strict enforcement of immigration policy and investigations into fraud involving federal programs.
Blansh had previously served as a federal prosecutor, then worked in the private sector. He had been registered as a Democratic voter and was not known for public political statements before taking on Trump’s defense — a risky professional turn that ultimately placed him at the center of the country’s top law-enforcement institution under a president he once represented.
Photo: EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
