In the early morning hours on Saturday, Todd Blanche was confirmed — at long last — as Attorney General.
This was one of the Senate’s final moves before departing for their controversial 5-week August recess.
The White House announced:
CONFIRMED: Todd Blanche has been officially confirmed as the 88th Attorney General of the United States!
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 8, 2026
The American people voted for results. Todd Blanche continues to deliver. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/L7iT2mWsQ9
The Senate ended up staying late to get Blanche’s confirmation done before skipping town.
AG Todd Blanche thanked them in a post on X:
I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General.
— Acting AG Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) August 8, 2026
I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process.
To the dedicated public servants of the…
I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation's 88th Attorney General.
I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process.
To the dedicated public servants of the Department of Justice, thank you for your work each day to uphold the law and keep our country safe.
God bless America.
As you may remember, Blanche’s confirmation faced several hurdles.
Two outgoing Senators — John Cornyn and Thom Tillis — initially refused to give their support until the DOJ agreed to formally rescind the planned anti-weaponization fund.
Even after Blanche satisfied these two RINOs’ demands, he could not afford to lose hardly any Republican votes.
In the end, Blanche’s nomination was secured when Sen. Bill Cassidy, who was on the fence, announced that he would back him.
The Hill reported:
Though confirmed along a party-line vote when he was nominated as deputy attorney general in March of last year, Blanche faltered in gaining GOP support to lead the Justice Department after a series of actions that earned pushback from skeptical Republicans.
Chief among them was Blanche's decision to sign off on a $1.776 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund expected to funnel money to Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants. The fund, which Blanche formally rescinded earlier this week, was created in the wake of an agreement to settle a $10 billion suit from President Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Blanche was able to clinch confirmation with the reluctant backing of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who took to the Senate floor Friday morning to announce and explain his much-anticipated decision.
"The choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche; it is between Mr. Blanch and another acting attorney general, who may not run the department effectively under President Trump, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche," he said.
Ultimately, the vote to confirm Blanche was 50-49, largely along party lines.
But, two Republicans — Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski — joined Democrats to vote against Blanche’s confirmation.
Ironically, both voted to confirm Biden appointee Merrick Garland.
President Trump called out these RINOs in a post on Truth Social, which Eric Daugherty shared on X:
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump just EXPOSED Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RINO-AK) for opposing AG Todd Blanche’s nomination — despite voting to confirm Merrick Garland, who WEAPONIZED DOJ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 8, 2026
Garland personally signed off on raiding Trump’s home! 🤯
Alaska voted for TRUMP. Murkowski acts… pic.twitter.com/vEm1LaZpab
President Trump also shared a post calling Murkowski a “traitor” on Truth Social:
It’s great that the Senate was able to get Blanche’s nomination through before leaving Washington.
However, it’s not all good news.
While the Senate did tick Blanche’s confirmation and a crucial CR bill off the list, the most important bill is still hanging in the balance.
I’m talking about the SAVE America Act, of course, which was not passed before the Senate took their (undeserved) 5-week break.
Sen. Mike Lee broke down the good, the bad, and the ugly in a post on X:
The Good:
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) August 8, 2026
We confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General.
We passed a CR to fund the government through early December.
At the encouragement of President Trump, we will revisit the budget resolution for Reconciliation 3.0 in coming weeks.
The Bad:
Democrats, having lied…
The Good:
We confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General.
We passed a CR to fund the government through early December.
At the encouragement of President Trump, we will revisit the budget resolution for Reconciliation 3.0 in coming weeks.
The Bad:
Democrats, having lied about supporting simple voter ID in the past, blocked this commonsense component of the SAVE America Act.
The Ugly:
There are 21 weeks left in the year.
We're scheduled to be in recess for 14 of them.
***
I proudly voted against leaving town. And I will continue pushing for the SAVE America Act when the Senate is back in session.
Many thanks to the grassroots champions of the SAVE America Act and election security who have been with us every step of the way. You are the reason that Congress has been forced to confront this pressing issue. You are the reason Democrats have been forced to repeatedly display their contempt for American voters. And you are the reason that this battle isn't going away.
Keep fighting.
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