Todd Blanche once sat beside Donald Trump in court as his personal criminal defense attorney.
Now he controls the United States Department of Justice.
In a razor-thin vote early Saturday, the Senate confirmed Blanche as attorney general, permanently placing one of Trump’s closest former legal defenders in charge of the federal institution responsible for investigating crimes, enforcing national law and deciding whether politically sensitive cases move forward.
The final tally was 50–49.
One additional Republican defection could have brought the nomination crashing down.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined every participating Democrat in opposing Blanche. With Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell absent because of continuing health problems, Republicans had almost no margin for error.
The deciding support came from Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy—a Trump critic who acknowledged serious concerns about Blanche’s judgment, the politicization of the Justice Department and an extraordinary settlement involving the president.
Cassidy voted yes anyway.
That decision cleared the final obstacle between Trump’s former lawyer and one of the most powerful offices in the federal government.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley celebrated Blanche as an experienced attorney who had already demonstrated his ability to lead the department.
“Mr. Blanche is nominated to one of the most important offices in our country, and he has shown that he’s up to that task,” Grassley said before the vote.
“A vote for Todd Blanche is a vote for the safety of the American people.”
But Blanche’s confirmation was anything but routine.
His nomination repeatedly appeared endangered by Republican concerns about his handling of files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lawmakers from both parties demanded greater clarity about why the department had not released additional material and how Blanche approached one of the most politically explosive controversies surrounding the administration.
Then came a separate dispute involving the Internal Revenue Service.
A May 19 Justice Department order reportedly authorized the creation of a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund while granting Trump, his relatives and business entities protection from IRS audits as part of a settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed by the president.
Blanche was serving as acting attorney general when the order was signed.
During his July 15 confirmation hearing, he declared that the fund was “dead.” But Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina demanded written confirmation and answers about whether Trump and his family remained shielded from future tax audits.
Their resistance temporarily delayed the nomination.
Blanche eventually rescinded the fund and moved forward, clearing the Judiciary Committee in a party-line 12–10 vote.
The full Senate presented an even more dangerous test.
Collins and Murkowski announced that they could not support Blanche, pointing to the Epstein controversy, the IRS settlement and what they described as a Justice Department increasingly willing to pursue Trump’s political opponents.
That made Cassidy the pivotal senator.
His history gave the moment added drama.
Cassidy voted to convict Trump of incitement of insurrection after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Trump later endorsed a primary challenger against him, and Cassidy was overwhelmingly defeated in May.
With his Senate career approaching its end, Cassidy no longer faced the usual electoral pressure to satisfy Trump or protect himself from a MAGA-backed challenger.
He also admitted that Blanche’s record troubled him.
Cassidy said Blanche had “showed poor judgment” by approving the anti-weaponization fund and exempting the president from IRS audits. He also criticized the Justice Department for targeting Trump’s political enemies.
But after identifying the danger, Cassidy supplied the vote Blanche needed.
“I will vote for Mr. Blanche,” he concluded.
That sentence effectively decided who would control the Justice Department.
Blanche, a 51-year-old Colorado native, became Trump’s acting attorney general on April 2 after the president fired Pam Bondi and elevated Blanche from the deputy attorney general position.
His permanent confirmation completes a remarkable transformation.
Blanche went from defending Trump personally in the Stormy Daniels criminal case to leading the department that must determine how federal law applies to Trump, his family, his allies and his opponents.
That trajectory does not automatically establish that Blanche will act unlawfully or ignore his professional obligations. Attorneys can represent private clients and later serve the public, and the attorney general remains subject to statutes, judicial review and congressional oversight.
But the appearance of conflicting loyalties is unavoidable.
The attorney general represents the United States—not the president as an individual. The office requires the ability to reject improper demands, protect investigations from political interference and apply prosecutorial power without fear or favor.
Blanche’s supporters insist that he can make that distinction.
His critics see little evidence that he has ever meaningfully defied Trump.
Now the debate is over.
By the narrowest possible margin, the Senate has placed Trump’s former personal attorney at the summit of federal law enforcement.
The confirmation took 50 votes.
The consequences of that single-vote victory could shape the Justice Department—and the limits of presidential power—for years.
