US Senate Confirms Todd Blanche as Attorney General

On Saturday, Republicans in the US Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general by a vote of 50 to 49. Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against the nomination, while Senator Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote.

The vote ended a several-week-long dispute over Blanche's independence. Senators had expressed concerns about his approach to the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his role in establishing Donald Trump's "Anti-Weaponization Fund" worth $1.8bn and the tax immunity agreement for the president and his sons.

Blanche ultimately agreed in writing to narrow the scope of the tax immunity agreement and to terminate payments from the fund. Murkowski expressed a lack of confidence in Blanche, but Cassidy ultimately trusted him to provide the president with honest legal advice, given that he had been the president's personal attorney in the past.

Since April, he had been serving as acting attorney general. Under his leadership, the department sought to prosecute Trump's alleged enemies, which led to a mass exodus of prosecutors and the dismissal of career officials. Federal judges criticized the cases brought as weak, and grand juries in some cases rejected the indictments.

Blanche argued that he helped reduce crime to record-low levels and righted wrongs committed by Joe Biden's administration.

(Reuters, Max)