U.S. Senate confirms Todd Blanche, former Trump lawyer, as Deputy Attorney General

Washington.- The United States Senate confirmed this Saturday Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, as the country’s new Attorney General.

Blanche was confirmed to lead the Department of Justice by a narrow margin of 50 votes in favor and 49 against, after overcoming reservations that arose within the Republican ranks.

Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, joined the Democratic opposition to vote against his nomination, considering him responsible for the politicization of the Department of Justice.

The new attorney general was confirmed after leading the U.S. delegation this Friday in Colombia that participated in the inauguration ceremony of Abelardo De la Espriella as the new Colombian president.

Acting Attorney General

Blanche, nominated by Trump, had been serving as acting attorney general of the country since last April, when the president dismissed Pam Bondi for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex offender case.

In May, Blanche announced the creation of a fund of about $1.8 billion to compensate people who, according to the Trump administration, were the subject of unfair judicial persecution during the Joe Biden administration (2021-2025), including those involved in the 2021 Capitol riot.

Said fund, which was suspended in the courts, emerged as part of an agreement with Trump due to the lawsuit that the president’s family had filed against the Government for the disclosure of his tax returns and was criticized even by legislators from the Republican party.

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Blanche had to formally withdraw from the fund on August 3rd to unlock her Senate confirmation, given that Republicans John Cornyn and Thom Tillis blocked her nomination.

Trump’s personal lawyer

Born in Denver (Colorado) in 1974, Blanche developed a career as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and later as a defense attorney in high-profile cases.

He was the personal lawyer for the current president and led his defense in the New York trial regarding the irregular payments to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign.

He also joined Trump’s legal team in the federal cases regarding the handling of classified documents and the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Under his interim tenure, the Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against former FBI Director James Comey, who had clashed with Trump, and opened investigations linked to the unfounded 2020 election fraud claims, for which Democrats accuse him of undermining the independence of the Department of Justice. Department of Justice by a narrow margin of 50 votes in favor and 49 against, after overcoming the reluctance that arose within the Republican ranks.