Opinion: Todd Blanche: From Trump’s Defense Lawyer To The Nation’s Top Cop

Source: Silicon Bay Partners’ Staff with assistance from ChatGPT
Photo: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gets sworn in at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee—Getty Images)

Washington has a new attorney general. His résumé reads less like a search for an independent chief law-enforcement officer and more like a loyalty program with a law degree.

The Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general on Friday, August 8, by a 50–49 vote, installing one of Donald Trump’s former personal defense lawyers as the nation’s top law-enforcement official. Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against him, while Democrats unanimously opposed the nomination.

And Blanche certainly isn’t walking into the Justice Department as an unknown quantity. Before joining the administration, he was one of Trump’s personal attorneys, representing him in some of the most consequential criminal cases of Trump’s first term back in Washington, including the Manhattan hush-money case and federal cases involving classified documents and election interference. Trump later brought Blanche into the Justice Department, first as deputy attorney general and then as acting attorney general after Pam Bondi’s departure in April.

So, naturally, when the president needed someone to run the Justice Department, he looked to the guy who had previously been helping defend him.

Nothing says “independent law enforcement” quite like forwarding the résumé from the president’s personal lawyer’s office directly to the Attorney General’s office.

The $1.8 Billion Elephant in the Room

Perhaps the juiciest chapter in Blanche’s short tenure at Justice involves an extraordinary settlement between the Trump administration and the Internal Revenue Service.

Trump had sued the IRS for $10 billion over the disclosure of his tax information. Rather than litigating the case to its conclusion, the Justice Department negotiated a settlement that included the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The money was intended to compensate people who claimed they had been unfairly targeted by government investigations, including Trump allies and people prosecuted in connection with January 6. Blanche signed the agreement.

Then came the really interesting part.

A day later, Blanche signed an addendum that said the federal government would be “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing certain IRS claims against Trump, his family and related businesses. In other words, the guy running the Justice Department signed a document that potentially prevented the IRS from pursuing tax matters involving the president and his family.

That’s the sort of arrangement that makes ordinary taxpayers wonder whether there is a Platinum Executive Protection Plan available at the IRS.

Unfortunately, it apparently isn’t available to the rest of us.

The deal became such a political headache that Republican senators threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation unless he agreed to abandon portions of it. Blanche eventually provided written assurances that the Justice Department would scrap the controversial fund and narrow the tax provisions.

So, Blanche’s path to confirmation essentially included this unusual Washington ritual:

Step 1: Make controversial deal.
Step 2: Get criticized by Republicans.
Step 3: Promise to undo controversial deal.
Step 4: Get confirmed anyway.

Welcome to Washington.

Then There’s Epstein

If the IRS affair wasn’t enough, Blanche’s confirmation hearings also put the Jeffrey Epstein files under the microscope.

Blanche became involved in the administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation and files, including personally interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025. His handling of the government’s release of Epstein-related material subsequently became a major point of criticism during his confirmation process.

Blanche has defended the administration’s handling of the files and maintained that he has acted appropriately. But the episode generated enough controversy that Epstein’s victims and their families became part of the political and legal storm surrounding his confirmation.

There is an important distinction here: Blanche’s involvement in the Epstein matter does not establish that he participated in or was responsible for Epstein’s crimes. The controversy centers on his handling of government information and the administration’s decisions regarding the files.

Still, having your confirmation hearing simultaneously dominated by Epstein, Trump, the IRS and a $1.8 billion taxpayer fund isn’t exactly the traditional Attorney General welcome basket.

“I’m Not Trump’s Yes Man”

Blanche has repeatedly insisted that he is not simply Trump’s lawyer in a nicer suit.

During his confirmation battle, he told senators that he would put the interests of the American people ahead of his former client’s interests and insisted that he could operate independently.

That’s going to be an interesting promise to keep.

Blanche isn’t merely someone who once met Trump at a fundraiser. He was Trump’s defense attorney.

Now he is responsible for overseeing the very department that can investigate, prosecute and defend the federal government, including matters involving the president.

That’s one heck of a professional transition.

A Justice Department Under Trump

Blanche’s confirmation also comes at a moment when critics argue that the Justice Department has become increasingly politicized.

Under Trump’s second administration, the department has pursued investigations involving Trump’s political opponents while removing or sidelining officials associated with cases Trump has long considered politically motivated. Blanche has defended those moves as efforts to correct what he views as abuses of the department during the Biden administration.

His supporters see something very different.

They argue Blanche is a serious lawyer who knows the Justice Department from the inside, understands Trump’s legal battles and is committed to reversing what they regard as politically motivated prosecutions.

His critics see the same résumé and reach the opposite conclusion:

Perhaps the person least likely to tell the president “no” shouldn’t be the person running the agency whose job includes telling everyone else “no.”

The Confirmation Nobody Will Forget

The final vote—50 to 49—was hardly a coronation.

Republican senators Collins and Murkowski broke ranks, citing concerns about Blanche’s independence and judgment. Senator Bill Cassidy ultimately provided the crucial Republican support after Blanche gave assurances regarding the controversial IRS settlement and anti-weaponization fund.

Blanche is now officially the 88th U.S. Attorney General.

And his assignment is enormous: oversee the FBI, federal prosecutors, national-security operations, civil-rights enforcement and the government’s vast criminal-justice apparatus while maintaining independence from the president who nominated him.

That last part may be the toughest assignment of all.

Because Blanche isn’t simply taking over the Justice Department. He’s taking over the Justice Department after spending years representing Donald Trump.

And if the opening chapters are any indication, his tenure is going to be anything but boring.

There will be the Epstein files.
There will be Trump’s political enemies.
There will be fights over presidential power.
There will be questions about the IRS.
There will be battles over the $1.8 billion fund.
And, inevitably, there will be Trump.
Lots and lots of Trump.

For Blanche, the challenge will be proving that when the president calls, he isn’t picking up the phone as Donald Trump’s former lawyer. He’s picking it up as the Attorney General of the United States.

And for the rest of us, the question is considerably simpler:

Will Todd Blanche be Trump’s Attorney General—or America’s?