Todd Blanche: Acting US Attorney General Faces Tough Senate Confirmation Hearing

Todd Blanche faced intense bipartisan scrutiny on Wednesday as he appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee seeking confirmation as the next US Attorney General, with lawmakers pressing him on his relationship with President Donald Trump, the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and a controversial tax settlement.

Blanche, who currently serves as Acting Attorney General, took over after President Trump dismissed former Attorney General Pam Bondi amid criticism over the Justice Department’s release of Epstein-related documents.

Senators from both parties questioned whether Blanche could lead the Justice Department independently after previously serving as Trump’s personal defence lawyer in several high-profile criminal cases, including the New York criminal trial before the 2024 presidential election.

When Republican Senator John Kennedy asked whether he considered Trump a friend, Blanche rejected the suggestion. He said he met Trump solely in his role as a criminal defence attorney and argued that such a professional relationship should not be viewed as a personal friendship.

The hearing also focused on a controversial settlement involving Trump, his family business and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A federal judge recently struck down the agreement, which included immunity from future tax audits and proposed creating a $1.7 billion “anti-weaponisation fund” for people who claimed they had faced politically motivated government investigations.

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Republican lawmakers sought assurances that the proposed fund would not move forward. Blanche told senators he was confident the fund would never become operational.

The Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files emerged as another major issue during the hearing. Lawmakers criticised delays in releasing millions of investigative records and questioned the extensive redactions made before publication. Several women wearing shirts displaying heavily redacted documents attended the hearing to protest the department’s handling of the files.

Blanche acknowledged that officials made mistakes while processing the documents. He described the release of approximately six million pages as a complex undertaking and said the department corrected about one percent of the redactions after identifying errors. He also apologised to Epstein’s victims, saying the mistakes should never have happened.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons asked Blanche whether President Trump could legally seek a third presidential term in 2028 despite constitutional limits. Blanche replied that he did not believe Trump was eligible to run again under the US Constitution.

The hearing also featured several heated exchanges. Blanche described one question from Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse regarding FBI Director Kash Patel as “extraordinarily obnoxious.” He later criticised Senator Cory Booker for interrupting his responses during questioning about a proposed media industry merger.

Although several Republican senators appeared satisfied with Blanche’s testimony, some members remained undecided. Senator John Cornyn said he still had concerns and had not yet decided whether to support the nomination.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on whether to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate, where lawmakers will make the final decision on his confirmation as Attorney General.