Donald Trump just made a major announcement about the future of the Department of Justice. The President revealed his pick for permanent Attorney General at a private White House event.
Donald Trump appoints Todd Blanche as ‘permanent’ Attorney General
Donald Trump announced his plan to nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the permanent Attorney General, NBC News reported. Trump made the announcement at a private White House event on Wednesday evening. Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, posted a video of the announcement online.
“He’s acting attorney general,” Trump said in the video, referring to Blanche. “Tomorrow I’m instructing Dan and everybody else that’s involved in that very complicated process, which is going to be, I think, very quickly, that we are going to make him permanent attorney general.”
Blanche assumed the acting role in early April after Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. He previously served as Bondi’s deputy before stepping into the top position. Prior to joining the administration, Blanche worked as Trump’s personal attorney. He represented Trump in the New York hush money case that resulted in a conviction on 34 felony counts. Trump has denied the charges in that case.
Since taking over, Blanche has launched several high-profile investigations targeting Trump’s perceived political opponents. The Justice Department secured an indictment of former FBI Director James Comey in April. Prosecutors alleged a photo Comey posted of seashells reading “86 47” threatened Trump’s life. Comey has denied making any threat with the photo. A federal judge previously dismissed an earlier indictment against Comey over allegations he lied to Congress.
The administration also proposed a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for people claiming government targeting. The proposal drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers across both parties. Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday the administration would not move forward with the fund.
Blanche’s nomination now heads to the Senate for confirmation proceedings. The Senate confirmed him as deputy attorney general last year on a 52-46 vote.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
