Trump officially nominates Blanche as attorney general
June 8 (UPI) — On Monday, President Donald Trump officially nominated Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, to take over the job for good, sending the nomination to the Senate. Blanche would replace Pam Bondi, the attorney general Trump fired in April.
Trump said several days ago that he would officially nominate Blanche, who used to be one of the president’s personal defense lawyers, for the role.
Now, the Senate must confirm Blanche through a majority vote. In a statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said that he will support Blanche, CNN reported.
“Blanche is well-qualified and has shown his dedication to restoring law and order across our country,” Grassley said. “The Senate Judiciary Committee’s work to process Blanche’s nomination is underway.”
CNN also reported that Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is also a member of the committee, said that he will ask Blanche about Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which was created after a settlement between the Internal Revenue Service and the president, his sons and the Trump Organization.
Blanche said last week that the fund, which some have called a way for Trump to reward his political allies (including those convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol), is dead. However, he refused to put that in writing. On Thursday, Senate Republicans stopped an attempt by Democrats to ensure the fund’s permanent demise through an amendment to a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Blanche’s nomination also comes after he arranged for Trump and the other parties in the IRS lawsuit to have immunity from prosecution or enforcement actions on any tax returns filed before the settlement.
Blanche is also likely to face questions on the release of the so-called Epstein Files. Bondi told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in May that she put Blanche, then deputy attorney general, in charge of releasing the files, CNBC reported. The department did not redact the names of some victims and withheld other documents.