Key Takeaways
- The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as the 88th U.S. Attorney General in a 50-49 vote gaveled down at 4:31 a.m. Saturday, with Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining all Democrats in opposition.
- Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was the decisive vote, announcing his support Friday after weighing conversations with Blanche, two Louisiana U.S. attorneys, and former Attorney General Bill Barr.
- Blanche’s path narrowed after he moved to kill a roughly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and scaled back a tax-immunity arrangement tied to his and Trump’s IRS settlement — concessions demanded by wavering Republicans John Cornyn and Thom Tillis.
- Barr’s June Wall Street Journal op-ed and his direct outreach to Cassidy supplied intellectual cover for a vote Cassidy knew would draw criticism, framing Blanche’s history as Trump’s personal lawyer as an asset rather than a liability.
- Blanche, who has led the Justice Department on an acting basis since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, now has full authority to continue the administration’s aggressive DOJ agenda, including investigations of figures like former FBI Director James Comey.
Article Body
Todd Blanche spent the early hours of Saturday, August 8, becoming the second Senate-confirmed attorney general of Donald Trump’s second term — and he did it by the narrowest possible margin, with a vote so close that a single additional Republican defection would have sunk his nomination. The 50-49 result, gaveled down at 4:31 a.m. just as the Senate broke for its five-week August recess, capped a confirmation fight that few expected to be competitive when Trump first tapped his longtime personal defense lawyer to run the Justice Department.
That the vote came down to the wire says less about Blanche’s qualifications, which even skeptical Republicans largely conceded, than about a specific set of controversies that emerged during his months as acting attorney general — controversies serious enough to push two institutionalist Republicans into opposition and to leave the outcome hanging on one senator who had already publicly broken with Trump before.
The Vote and the Numbers
The math left no room for error. With Republicans holding a 53-seat majority and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) absent while recovering from a June fall, Blanche could afford to lose only two GOP votes and still clear the chamber on a simple majority. Collins and Murkowski were both losses. Every Democrat opposed the nomination as well, which meant the outcome rested entirely on whether a third Republican would break ranks.
None did. Blanche’s confirmation makes him the 88th Attorney General of the United States, following his months in an acting capacity after Trump removed Pam Bondi from the post in April. Before that, Blanche had served as Deputy Attorney General, confirmed in a more comfortable 52-46 party-line vote after Trump nominated him to the department’s number-two role following his 2024 reelection.
The Concessions That Cleared Committee
Blanche’s nomination advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line 12-10 vote, but only after he made written commitments that had not been necessary for his earlier confirmation as deputy. Two issues dominated: a roughly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created as part of a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which critics — including some Republicans — warned could function as a discretionary pool of money benefiting Trump allies, among them defendants convicted in the January 6 Capitol attack; and a related tax-immunity arrangement shielding Trump, his family, and his businesses from IRS scrutiny.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) both withheld support until Blanche addressed the fund directly. Tillis had signaled the issue would be disqualifying if it “isn’t effectively dead by the confirmation hearing,” and Cornyn said he wanted more information before committing. Blanche responded by formally rescinding the fund in writing and narrowing the tax-immunity terms, which was enough to bring both senators on board and move the nomination to the floor. The concessions did not fully satisfy every critic — during questions for the record, at least one senator pressed Blanche for the exact date he rescinded the fund and did not get a direct answer — but they held through the floor vote.
The Decisive Vote: Cassidy’s Reversal
Even with committee approval secured, Blanche’s fate rested on Cassidy, a physician and outgoing senator who lost his Republican primary last year after Trump endorsed a rival — five years after Cassidy voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial. Cassidy had spent weeks reviewing Blanche’s record and holding off on a public position, making him the closest thing to a wild card once Collins and Murkowski declared their opposition.
On Friday, from the Senate floor, Cassidy announced he would vote yes. He described the choice in explicitly limited terms: “the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche,” he said, but between Blanche and the prospect of another acting attorney general who might run the department less effectively. He added that his decision was “not a referendum on President Trump,” but a judgment about Blanche specifically. Cassidy said he had weighed conversations with Blanche himself, with two Louisiana-based U.S. attorneys who praised Blanche’s focus on violent crime and fraud enforcement, and with Bill Barr.
Barr’s Public Case
Barr’s involvement began weeks earlier, in late June, with a Wall Street Journal op-ed urging Senate Republicans to confirm Blanche. The piece was notably restrained rather than glowing: Barr wrote that Blanche was “well-qualified” and would run the department “as effectively as anyone could” under Trump — a line legal commentators, including at the industry site Above the Law, described as unusually faint praise for an endorsement. Barr’s central argument was that Blanche’s history as Trump’s personal defense attorney made him better positioned than most to deliver unwelcome advice, since, in Barr’s telling, an effective defense lawyer must be willing to confront a difficult client with hard truths rather than simply validate him. Barr also argued that rejecting Blanche would not produce a better outcome, since Trump could simply continue running the department through acting leadership indefinitely rather than nominate someone more palatable to skeptics.
Barr’s Private Influence on Cassidy
Where Barr’s public argument mattered most, according to Cassidy’s own account, was in a direct conversation ahead of the vote. Cassidy told colleagues that Barr argued representing a client well requires “tough conversations” and a willingness to confront that client with difficult truths — and that Blanche’s years as Trump’s personal lawyer made him more likely, not less, to push back when it counted. Cassidy also acknowledged that both Barr and Blanche told him the same underlying reality applies regardless: final decisions rest with the president.
That framing — realistic rather than idealistic, and explicitly conceding Blanche’s limits — appears to have resonated with Cassidy’s own pragmatic, institutionalist instincts more than a full-throated defense of the administration would have. It gave him a rationale for a vote he acknowledged would draw criticism, distinct from simple partisan loyalty. Barr’s reach, however, was not unlimited: the same argument that moved Cassidy did nothing to change Collins’ or Murkowski’s calculus, since their objections rested on deeper concerns about institutional independence that a “least-bad competent manager” framing could not resolve.
Why Collins and Murkowski Voted No
Collins announced her opposition first, citing what she called a pattern of actions that had “further eroded the Department’s independence,” pointing specifically to the tax-immunity deal and the anti-weaponization fund. “While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” she said in a statement.
Murkowski followed Friday, framing her decision around trust rather than competence. “The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” she said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.” She had held “numerous constructive meetings” with Blanche, she noted, but concluded that was not enough. Both senators’ objections echoed broader Democratic criticism of Blanche’s tenure as acting attorney general, including his oversight of investigations into Trump’s political adversaries and concerns about the department’s independence more generally.
Blanche’s Background and Tenure as Acting AG
Blanche left a partner position at a major Wall Street law firm in 2023 to become one of Trump’s personal attorneys, leading his defense in the New York hush-money case — which resulted in Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts — as well as the now-dismissed federal case over Trump’s handling of classified documents. After Trump’s 2024 reelection, he nominated Blanche as deputy attorney general, the department’s second-highest post, where Blanche oversaw day-to-day operations and served as the public face of sensitive matters, including the release of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
As acting attorney general since April, Blanche has presided over a department reshaped substantially under Trump’s direction: thousands of employees have departed through firings, resignations, or voluntary exits; the department has pursued investigations of Trump critics, including former FBI Director James Comey; and Blanche’s team has advanced legal arguments expanding presidential authority. Democrats have accused him of prioritizing loyalty to Trump over institutional independence. California Sen. Alex Padilla put the criticism bluntly, telling NPR that Blanche “claims he was Donald Trump’s personal attorney but is continuing to act as if he’s still Donald Trump’s personal attorney.”
Reaction to the Confirmation
Blanche posted his response on social media shortly after the vote, writing that he was “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,” and thanking senators for staying late to finish the process. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the confirmation “a huge win for President Trump,” predicting Blanche would be a “phenomenal” attorney general, while Vice President JD Vance congratulated him publicly. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso had made a floor case for Blanche days earlier, citing Barr’s endorsement directly and calling Blanche “fearless, focused, and fair.”
What Happens Next
With confirmation secured, Blanche now holds unqualified authority to lead the department rather than the more constrained footing of an acting official — a shift observers on both sides expect could let him pursue the administration’s agenda, including ongoing investigations of political opponents, more assertively rather than less. His written commitments on the anti-weaponization fund and the tax-immunity terms are not statutory, leaving open questions about whether they bind his conduct once Senate scrutiny recedes. The Senate’s five-week recess means any immediate oversight response from Congress will likely wait until lawmakers return in September.
FAQ
Was Todd Blanche’s confirmation vote close? Yes. The Senate confirmed him 50-49, the narrowest possible margin given the chamber’s makeup, with Republicans able to afford only two defections.
Which senators voted against Blanche? All Democrats voted no, along with Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Sen. Mitch McConnell did not vote due to his absence following a June fall.
Why did Sen. Bill Cassidy’s vote matter so much? With Collins and Murkowski already opposed, Republicans could not lose a third vote. Cassidy’s Friday announcement supplying the 50th vote made confirmation possible.
What role did Bill Barr play in the confirmation? Barr publicly endorsed Blanche in a Wall Street Journal op-ed in June and privately spoke with Cassidy before the vote, arguing that Blanche’s history as Trump’s personal lawyer equipped him to deliver difficult advice rather than simply defer to the president.
What was the “anti-weaponization fund” controversy about? It refers to a roughly $1.8 billion fund tied to a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which critics said could function as a discretionary pool benefiting Trump allies. Blanche formally rescinded it to win over holdout Republicans.
Closing Analysis
Blanche’s confirmation resolves the immediate question of who runs the Justice Department, but it does not resolve the underlying tension that made the vote close in the first place: whether a former personal defense lawyer to the president can or will exercise independent judgment atop an agency Trump has explicitly said he wants used against political adversaries. Cassidy’s vote rested on Barr’s argument that Blanche’s loyalty and his willingness to push back are not mutually exclusive — a proposition that remains untested until Blanche faces a moment that actually requires him to resist the president rather than simply manage the department on his behalf. Congress returns from recess in September, and how Blanche handles the still-unresolved status of his written commitments on the anti-weaponization fund and tax-immunity terms will be an early signal of whether Cassidy’s bet pays off.
