Overview

Background

Blanche was born on August 6, 1974, in Denver, Colorado. He attended Brooklyn Law School at night while working as a paralegal at the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan, and graduated cum laude. He earned a bachelor's degree in public affairs from American University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Blanche began his career at the Department of Justice, where he served for over fifteen years in a variety of capacities, including as a contractor, a paralegal in the Criminal Division, and at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he eventually became an AUSA and later a supervisor. In 2006, Blanche returned to the SDNY as an Assistant United States Attorney. Over eight years, he rose to Co-Chief of the White Plains Division and Co-Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit, overseeing roughly two dozen prosecutors handling homicides, kidnappings, and gang violence cases.

He left federal prosecution in 2014 to enter private practice, joining WilmerHale and later becoming a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft LLP, where he led the white-collar crimes defense unit. Prior to defending Trump, Blanche had successfully defended Trump's former campaign director Paul Manafort. In 2023, Blanche resigned from Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft to defend Donald Trump in the hush money case, in which Trump was accused of paying adult-film actor Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair. He also represented Trump in the federal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Blanche has said that experience afforded him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

Public Role in the Second Trump Administration

Confirmation as Deputy Attorney General

In November 2024, then-President-elect Trump nominated Blanche for deputy attorney general. During the Senate confirmation process, Blanche faced many questions regarding his personal ties to Trump and his views on the relationship between the Department of Justice and the White House. He provided little detail, while asserting that the Department had been weaponized under the Biden administration. The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General in March 2025 by a 52–46 vote.

Managing the Department's Workforce and Direction

Under his leadership, more than 16,000 DOJ employees have left the department, including a quarter of its attorneys. He has overseen the termination of hundreds of employees, including agents, attorneys, and professional staff who worked on January 6 cases and the Special Counsel Jack Smith investigations. Critics have characterized these personnel changes as a systematic dismantling of the department's institutional independence, while supporters have framed them as a correction of what they view as prior politicization.

Under deputy attorney general and later as acting attorney general, Blanche has overseen the investigations of numerous Trump foes, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the Justice Department indicted in April for a second time since Trump returned to the White House. Blanche has strongly defended the Trump administration against accusations that it has weaponized the Justice Department, saying he feels no pressure to placate Trump and insisting he sees no problem with the president's interest in Justice Department matters, calling it the president's "right" and "his duty."

The Anti-Weaponization Fund and the IRS Settlement

One of the most contested episodes of Blanche's tenure involved a proposed $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." The Justice Department unveiled the fund in May, saying it would "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare." The fund was created "in exchange" for Trump and members of his family dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns, according to the DOJ. The settlement also sought to permanently shield Trump, his family, and his businesses from any future IRS investigations. The funds would have been used to pay individuals who were able to prove that they were victims of government "weaponization," and several conservative figures said they would be applying for compensation through the program.

A federal judge ruled in July 2026 that the Trump-IRS deal and creation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund were collusive. She wrote that the president's lawyers and DOJ attempted to use the court to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in law, and described Blanche's congressional testimony on the matter as "at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous," sending disciplinary referrals for Blanche and an associate attorney general to state bars.

Appointment as Acting Attorney General

On April 2, 2026, Blanche became acting attorney general following the removal of the previous attorney general, Pamela Bondi. In June 2026, Trump officially nominated Blanche to be the next attorney general. The nomination immediately stalled, in part over the Anti-Weaponization Fund controversy. Two Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — said they would hold off on supporting his full confirmation absent a written guarantee that the fund was dead.

Recent Developments

After a weekslong standoff between senators and the Trump administration, Blanche announced that the parties had reached a deal and that he had issued an order officially rescinding the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12–10 to advance Blanche's nomination for attorney general, a marked turnaround for Blanche, who just days earlier appeared at risk of seeing his nomination stall.

Senate Republicans voted to confirm Todd Blanche as the new full attorney general, overcoming stiff headwinds President Trump created for his own nominee. The 50–49 vote was not assured until shortly before, when Sen. Bill Cassidy said he would back Blanche; two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted with Democrats to oppose him. On August 10, 2026, Todd Blanche was sworn in as U.S. attorney general.

National security leak cases have become a hallmark of the DOJ during Blanche's tenure. Critics have raised concerns about press freedom implications, while the administration has defended such investigations as necessary to protect sensitive information. Additionally, Blanche has served as the acting librarian of Congress since May 2025; the legality of that appointment has been disputed.

Outlook

With his Senate confirmation now complete, Blanche moves from acting to confirmed attorney general at a moment when the Justice Department's institutional standing is itself a subject of deep political dispute. His confirmation was narrow and contentious, with even some within his own party raising concerns about the department's conduct under his leadership. The judicial referrals to state bars, the workforce reductions, and the controversies surrounding the IRS settlement and the Anti-Weaponization Fund have left unresolved questions that are likely to persist into his confirmed tenure.

Critics argue that Blanche was confirmed as Deputy Attorney General and became Acting Attorney General, but has never stopped acting as President Trump's personal lawyer. Supporters, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, argue that Blanche has earned the top post with his management of the department and the priorities he has pursued, including combatting fraud in government programs and ramping up basic crime-fighting. How Blanche navigates the tension between presidential loyalty and institutional independence — a tension that has defined his entire role at DOJ — will likely determine both his effectiveness and his historical standing as attorney general.