President Trump announced Wednesday night that he intends to nominate Todd Blanche, his current acting attorney general and former personal lawyer, to lead the Justice Department permanently. The declaration came at a closed White House Rose Garden event and was shared by Dan Scavino, a top Trump adviser.
"Tomorrow I'm instructing Dan and everybody else that's involved in that very complicated process, which is going to go, I think, very quickly, that we are going to make him permanent attorney general," Trump said in the video posted by Scavino.
Blanche's elevation would formalize the role of a trusted insider who has already demonstrated willingness to carry out the president's agenda. But a formal Senate nomination would almost certainly trigger contentious confirmation hearings. Lawmakers have already pressed Blanche on his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case and his approval of prosecutions targeting figures Trump views as adversaries.
The nomination comes as Blanche faces criticism over another Trump initiative: a proposed $1.8 billion fund to use federal money compensating allies who claim political persecution. The arrangement has drawn sharp rebukes from Democratic senators.
The attorney general announcement follows Trump's midweek appointment of Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence. Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, brings no documented experience in intelligence, defense, or national security matters. He has emerged as one of the administration's most vocal advocates for criminal investigations into Democrats and others Trump perceives as opponents.
Pulte's intelligence directorship has prompted Democratic lawmakers to threaten blocking reauthorization of critical surveillance authorities designed to protect against foreign threats. The move underscores the political stakes surrounding Trump's personnel decisions as he consolidates control over federal law enforcement and intelligence operations.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Trump is stacking Justice and intelligence with loyalists who have already shown they'll execute his vendettas, and the Senate will have to decide whether to rubber-stamp it or actually fight back."
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