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The United States Senate has begun negotiations with interim Attorney General Todd Blanche as he seeks confirmation to lead the Department of Justice, the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold two days of questioning with Blanche on Wednesday and Thursday.
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The upcoming hearings will also shed light on Blanche’s loyalty to President Donald Trump and whether she will protect the Justice Department’s independence.
But in her opening statement Wednesday, Blanche tried to allay those concerns, saying instead that she was fixing what was wrong with the department.
“We are restoring the confidence of America,” said Blanche.
Before joining Trump’s second administration, Blanche served as a lawyer for the Republican president. Blanche represented him in the lawsuit that included the New York case that convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
In March 2025, he was confirmed as deputy attorney general, before Pam Bondi’s departure in April, he was named acting attorney general.
But while Blanche has faced Senate scrutiny in the past, the question is likely to be bigger than what she faced last year.
Blanche must face questions about herself effort to be prosecuted several of Trump’s political opponents and critics, including James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In May, Blanche oversaw the settlement of a lawsuit the president filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that shielded Trump and his family from future tax audits.
Blanche has also played a key role in handling the Jeffrey Epstein files at the Department of Justice, which detail the government’s investigation into the perpetrator.
Critics have questioned whether members of the Trump administration have tried to protect powerful figures through redactions or inconsistencies in published files. Trump himself had old relationship and Epstein.
However, Blanche made little mention of her relationship with Trump in her opening remarks, saying she was “very grateful” for his support.
Instead he showed FBI data showing violent crime in the U.S. dropping by 2025, continuing its decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the Justice Department’s efforts to combat cartels and drug trafficking.
“I’m proud of what we’ve done to help American families see safer roads and a better shot at a working life,” said Blanche. “None of this is a Republican or Democrat issue.”
But Blanche echoed Trump’s claims that the Justice Department was “armed” against Trump and his allies before the Republican leader’s second term.
“In recent years, we’ve seen the Department of Justice turn against many of you and the former president, and that has destroyed the public’s faith in justice,” Blanche said. “We’ll fix that.”
Trump faces four charges, including two federal charges: one for trying to subvert the 2020 election, and another for withholding classified documents. Both cases were dropped after Trump returned to office.
Wednesday’s action was, in many ways, a symbolic referendum on the Justice Department under Trump. There have been concerns that Trump has used the department for political purposes, despite a long tradition of free speech.
Legal experts also said that, even without confirmation, Trump could keep Blanche on the docket for months to come.
Republicans in focus
Blanche’s conviction remains on a knife’s edge; it is unclear whether he will continue to confirm all of the Senate.
Following the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, only one Republican on the committee may want to accompany him to disrupt the process.
Both Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, and Senator John Cornyn, who lost his race against Trump, are seen as candidates to challenge Blanche.
During an interview Tuesday, Cornyn took issue with Trump’s relationship with the IRS. The settlement gave Trump and his family immunity from tax probes, and created an estimated $1.8bn in “fighting weapons” for political defendants.
Blanche said the bag had been left behind, something she repeated Wednesday.
“I’m under oath today, and I’ve said it over and over again,” Blanche said during the hearing. “I said it to the House Committee, and I’m happy to say it as many times as I want.”
A federal judge on Tuesday nothing Ending, accusing participants like Blanche of breaking court rules and customs to meet the president’s demands.
“There was no question who would win,” the judge wrote, pointing out that Blanche and others supported Trump.
On Wednesday, Cornyn was one of those who said the Trump administration had not written down its plans to end the settlement.
“To be clear, the president of the United States, who is the plaintiff in this case, has not agreed in writing to delete the ‘Anti-Weapons Fund’ and there is no evidence that he will not raise it in the future?” Cornyn asked.
Blanche, however, confirmed that a written declaration would not be helpful in this matter, and that Trump has no control over the fund.
Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat, accused Blanche of valuing her loyalty to Trump above all else. He echoed Blanche’s pro-Trump comments in April, when Blanche said she would “like” the president no matter what he decides to do.
“In less than 18 months at the Department of Justice, you have shown that you are still President Trump’s lawyer,” Durbin said.
“Your authority can be summed up in the four words you said,” he added, “‘I love you, sir’ – to President Trump”.
