Trump Nominates Todd Blanche as Attorney General After $1.8 Billion DOJ Fund Backlash
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jun 8
Trump Nominates Todd Blanche as Attorney General After $1.8 Billion DOJ Fund Backlash
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jun 8
Summary
Todd Blanche, acting attorney general for more than two months, was formally nominated Monday to replace Pam Bondi as Trump’s permanent attorney general.
The nomination lands amid scrutiny of Blanche’s role in a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund and a settlement shielding Trump, his family and the Trump Organization from IRS-related prosecution over pre-settlement tax returns.
June 2 testimony intensified that pressure: Blanche said the Justice Department had permanently dropped the fund after criticism and a court injunction, but he refused to put that in writing, and Trump later said he was unsure of the fund’s fate.
Senate confirmation could be difficult because some Republicans, Democrats and watchdog groups have questioned conflicts tied to Blanche’s past work as Trump’s defense lawyer, which earned nearly $10 million from Save America PAC in 2024.
The fight adds to wider controversy around Blanche’s stewardship of politically sensitive Justice Department matters, including Epstein files and cases tied to Trump, the only U.S. president ever charged criminally.