Washington– President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would run Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal attorney who aggressively pursued the Republican president’s agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.
Trump said during a White House dinner that he planned to formally nominate Blanche on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide.
“We will make him our permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the Rose Garden event.
Blanche quickly sought to position himself as the front-runner for the permanent job after the firing of Pam Bondi in April, accelerating investigations into Trump’s opponents and announcing a new trial. A fund worth approximately $1.8 billion It aims to compensate the president’s allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department out of office To cancel the idea Earlier this week in an unusual turn.
Blanche was brought into the Justice Department as deputy attorney general and promoted after Bondi was ousted over her failed efforts to prosecute political opponents of Trump. Blanche insisted he did not audition to become attorney general, but he has made clear with his flamboyant movements since taking over his determination to prove his loyalty to Trump.
Blanche’s actions angered Democrats and other critics who accused him of still acting like Trump’s personal lawyer to carry out the president’s retaliation campaign. The $1.776 billion Arms Control Fund has also drawn backlash from Senate Republicans, whose support Blanche will now need in order to be confirmed as attorney general.
Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Justice Department would not move forward with the plan after the political setback stalled legislation to fund Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies.
While Blanche emphasized that he felt no pressure from the president, under his supervision the Justice Department has advanced its prosecutions of Trump’s old enemies.
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted last April Social media image Of seashells arranged on the beach that officials said posed a threat to the president. Comey, who has criticized the case as politically motivated, said he would not be surprised if the Justice Department brought additional indictments against him.
Blanche separately appointed Joseph DiGenova, an 81-year-old former Reagan administration Justice Department prosecutor, to oversee an investigation in Florida into whether Former law enforcement and intelligence officials conspired over the past decade to undermine Trump.
A former federal prosecutor in New York, Blanche rose to public prominence for his leadership role in Trump’s defense team, including during the trial. Republicans on hush money trial in New York. He said the position allowed him a first-hand look at what he claims is the use of the criminal justice system as a weapon against Trump.