June 4, 2026, 8:11 amJune 4, 2026, 8:11 am
US President Donald Trump wants to make his former personal lawyer and current interim Attorney General Todd Blanche permanent head of department. He will launch the formal nomination on Thursday, Trump says in a video published on Platform X by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.
Trumo wants Todd Blanche to definitely become Minister of Justice.Image: keystone
The US Senate, in which Trump’s Republicans have the majority, must confirm the person. There could also be resistance within the ranks of the president’s party.
At the beginning of April, Todd Blanche took over the office on an interim basis after the dismissal of Justice Minister and Trump confidant Pam Bondi. The reasons for the dismissal include Bondi’s leadership style and her handling of the files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Blanche was previously deputy attorney general and is considered a loyal supporter of Trump. In May, he reached an extremely controversial agreement with the US tax authority on behalf of the US President, according to which Trump and his family’s previous tax returns could no longer be checked and companies and foundations associated with him were also granted a kind of general amnesty.
Plans for a compensation fund for alleged victims of politically motivated criminal prosecution, which Trump had pushed forward at short notice through Blanche and the Justice Department, also met with criticism in the US Senate. Republicans expressed significant concerns. The plan was ultimately rejected.
Blanche was once a prosecutor in New York and later a personal lawyer for Trump. Before the Republican’s re-election, he was part of his defense team in the New York criminal case regarding the unlawful recording of hush money payments to a porn actress. (dab/sda/dpa)