US Senate confirms Trump former lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche was confirmed as US attorney general on Saturday after Senate Republicans brushed aside Democratic concerns that he could politicize the Justice Department. Blanche, who had already been serving as acting attorney general, represented Trump as his private attorney in several criminal cases before entering government. The Senate, which Republicans narrowly control, confirmed in a 50-to-49 vote. Trump, who has sought to exert greater control over traditionally independent federal agencies, has called Blanche a "star." Democrats opposed Blanche from the beginning, accusing Trump of turning the Justice Department into a political weapon. "The attorney general is supposed to be the people's lawyer," Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday. "Mr Blanche continues to operate as the president's personal lawyer, treating the Justice Department like a law firm serving one client -- the president." The confirmation had been in doubt as the White House sought to win over a handful of Republican holdouts whose support was needed for Blanche to secure the post. The main sticking point was a proposal to establish a $1.8 billion fund for what Trump calls victims of politically motivated prosecutions, potentially including people prosecuted over the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, when Trump supporters sought to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory against Trump in the 2020 election. The other major issue was a proposal to shield Trump from tax audits. Blanche ultimately eased Republican opposition with a written order over the weekend scrapping the proposed "anti-weaponization fund" and saying an agreement shielding Trump, his two oldest sons and the Trump Organization from tax audits would apply only retroactively, to previous tax years, and not to future filings. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since Trump fired Pam Bondi, another political loyalist, in April. Since then, he has been closely tied to what Democrats describe as a Trump "retribution" campaign against the president's opponents. Blanche has also come in for criticism from victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of the release of investigative files about the convicted sex offender, a one-time close friend of Trump.