DistantNews
Support us
US Senate narrowly confirms Trump ally Todd Blanche as Attorney General
🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

US Senate narrowly confirms Trump ally Todd Blanche as Attorney General

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as the nation's Attorney General in a 50-49 vote.
  • The confirmation followed weeks of debate, with some Republicans expressing doubts about Blanche's independence from former President Donald Trump.
  • Blanche had been serving as acting attorney general since April, taking over after his predecessor's dismissal amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, has been confirmed as the U.S. Attorney General following a razor-thin Senate vote. The final tally was 50-49, concluding a contentious confirmation process that spanned several weeks. Blanche had been acting attorney general since April, assuming the role after his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was dismissed in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The U.S. Senate has narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as the nation's Attorney General.

— SourceReporting the confirmation vote outcome.

Within the Republican party, doubts had surfaced regarding Blanche's independence. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski reportedly voted against Trump's ally. The decisive vote came from Bill Cassidy, who only committed his support on Friday. Historically, the Justice Department has operated with significant independence from the executive branch. However, concerns have been raised that Trump sought to leverage the department for investigations targeting political opponents.

After his predecessor Pam Bondi was dismissed in April following the investigation into the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the former private lawyer of President Donald Trump had already taken over the post on an interim basis.

— SourceExplaining Blanche's interim role and the circumstances of his predecessor's departure.

Democrats have sharply criticized Blanche's appointment, accusing Trump of weaponizing the Justice Department against his adversaries. Dick Durbin, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that Blanche continued to act as the president's personal lawyer, treating the Justice Department as a law firm with a single client. Before his government service, Blanche was a prominent lawyer for Trump, defending him in a New York criminal case related to payments to Stormy Daniels. He was also part of Trump's legal team in two federal cases concerning the handling of classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Within the Republicans, who had ensured the majority, there had previously been doubts about Blanche's independence.

— SourceDescribing internal Republican concerns about Blanche.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog