Todd Blanche confirmation hearing is shaping up to be one of the most contentious Senate showdowns of the year, as Democrats prepare to press President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer on a series of explosive issues. Scheduled for July 15, the hearing over the attorney general nominee is expected to spark heated exchanges over the prosecution of Trump’s opponents, the withholding of Epstein files, and an effort to shield Trump from unpaid taxes.

A Nominee Under Fire

Since stepping into the role of acting attorney general in early April, Blanche has quickly become a lightning rod for controversy. During his short tenure, he has overseen a fresh Justice Department prosecution against Trump target James Comey and defended a proposed “anti-weaponization fund” that could have paid Trump supporters convicted of crimes during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

That fund drew bipartisan backlash, and Blanche ultimately announced he would not move forward with it. Still, the episode has become a central concern for lawmakers questioning his independence.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have already made their opposition clear. The committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, accused Blanche of abusing what he called the “awesome prosecutorial power” of the DOJ to target anyone who dares to cross the president. Durbin went further, arguing that Blanche has treated the Justice Department as though it were a criminal defense firm serving a single client: Trump himself.

To actually block the nomination, however, Democrats would need to peel away several Republican votes, a task that may prove difficult. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa quickly backed the pick after Trump’s June nomination, calling Blanche well-qualified and praising his dedication to restoring law and order.

Who Is Todd Blanche?

Blanche’s rise is deeply tied to his history as Trump’s personal attorney. Before Trump returned to the White House, Blanche defended him across multiple cases, sitting beside the then-former president throughout the Manhattan criminal trial in which Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump initially named Blanche as deputy attorney general in November 2024, the second-highest post at the Justice Department. Blanche then ascended to acting attorney general after Trump fired Pam Bondi, the first permanent attorney general of his second term, in April.

Why Trump Chose Blanche

Trump publicly kept his reasons for dismissing Bondi vague, describing her exit on social media as a transition to an important new role in the private sector. Behind the scenes, though, the picture was reportedly less flattering.

According to reports, Trump was frustrated with Bondi on two fronts:

• Her lack of success in prosecuting his political opponents and critics.
• Her handling of the DOJ’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, once a friend of Trump’s.

The Epstein saga proved especially damaging. In March 2025, Bondi fueled expectations that the DOJ would release incriminating information about Epstein’s associates. Two months later, she reportedly told Trump that he himself was named multiple times in the files. The DOJ subsequently released a memo stating that an internal review found no incriminating client list and that no further disclosure was warranted, triggering fierce criticism that the department was failing Epstein’s victims and the public.

As those complaints mounted, Blanche increasingly became the public face of the DOJ’s Epstein response. He interviewed Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking a minor. After Congress passed a bipartisan law requiring the release of the Epstein files, Blanche led the DOJ’s January press conference announcing the release of millions of pages, many heavily redacted, while millions more remained withheld.

What Blanche Has Done as Acting Attorney General

Blanche’s brief leadership has been marked by aggressive and often controversial actions. Under Bondi, indictments against two Trump targets, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, had been dismissed. Comey’s case alleged he lied to Congress, while James faced bank fraud allegations.

Since taking over, Blanche’s DOJ secured a new indictment against Comey, this time charging him with threatening to harm or kill the president. The charge stemmed from a May 2025 Instagram post showing seashells arranged in the shape of “86 47.” The term “86” is slang for getting rid of something, and Trump is the 47th president. Comey quickly deleted the post, saying he hadn’t realized some people linked the numbers to violence and that he opposes violence of any kind.

His DOJ also pursued several other high-profile actions:

• An indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing it of defrauding donors, a charge the civil rights group firmly denies.
• A settlement with Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization that a federal judge rejected on July 13 as an improper attempt to grant immunity to people connected to the president.

The rejected deal would have dropped a Trump family lawsuit in exchange for clearing them of past tax liability and creating the anti-weaponization fund. The judge concluded that Trump effectively controlled both sides of the lawsuit, meaning it wasn’t a legitimate legal dispute.

A Department in Transition

Blanche has taken the helm during a turbulent period for the Justice Department. Since Trump returned to office, thousands of lawyers have departed, including several hundred in leadership roles. Many former officials warn that this exodus has weakened the DOJ’s law enforcement capabilities.

Despite the upheaval, Blanche has pushed forward on anti-fraud enforcement. In May, the DOJ announced criminal charges against 15 defendants in Minnesota over alleged fraud schemes targeting more than $90 million in taxpayer funds, including cases tied to Medicaid and autism-related benefits.

The Road Ahead

As Blanche takes his seat before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the stakes could hardly be higher. Democrats see a nominee who has blurred the line between serving the president and serving the public, while Republicans view him as a qualified leader restoring order to the department. With sharp questions looming over political prosecutions, the Epstein files, and the Trump tax settlement, Blanche’s path to confirmation promises to be anything but smooth.