All articles tagged with #us attorney general
Newly sworn-in Attorney General Todd Blanche rejects a fully independent DOJ, saying he would weigh President Trump’s views when directing federal law enforcement, while also backing Jeanine Pirro and declaring Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund dead.
Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, was sworn in as US attorney general after serving as acting AG since April. The Senate narrowly confirmed him 50-49, making him the second Senate-approved AG of Trump’s second term. Blanche, previously Trump’s deputy AG, has presided over mass DOJ staff departures and faced courtroom setbacks, while inheriting controversy from Pam Bondi’s tenure over Epstein files. Democrats opposed his nomination, with Collins and Murkowski voting no.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal-defense lawyer, is sworn in as attorney general but faces a DOJ strained by vacancies and low morale, while balancing the president’s demands with legal obligations amid a skeptical judiciary and ongoing investigations.
The Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal-defense lawyer, as attorney general in a 50-49 vote, giving him a full term at the Justice Department amid vacancies and ongoing controversy surrounding the department.
Sen. Bill Cassidy said he will vote to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, giving President Trump’s pick the last expected GOP vote needed to win Senate approval, even as Lisa Murkowski and other Republicans express opposition over concerns about Blanche’s handling of an IRS deal and DOJ politicization.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the Trump-era plan for an $1.8 billion fund meant for people who claim political prosecutions, as part of a deal to advance his Senate-confirmed nomination to head the Justice Department, after Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis threatened to oppose the nomination without concessions.
Two Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee remain undecided on confirming Todd Blanche as U.S. attorney general, risking the nomination's progress. Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis cite concerns about reviving the $1.8 billion DOJ “Anti-Weaponization” fund from a Trump IRS settlement, with Tillis wanting Blanche to meet Epstein survivors before voting. Blanche has scheduled such a meeting at the DOJ, while Cornyn pressed him on the fund's language that could allow revival. If both GOP holdouts oppose and Democrats back Blanche, the committee could stall and prevent a full Senate vote. Blanche has been acting attorney general since April after Pam Bondi was fired and previously served as deputy AG; Epstein survivors have criticized his handling of related disclosures.)
A U.S. Justice Department lawyer, Mary 'Maggie' Cleary, has been unexpectedly appointed as acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing Erik Siebert amid tensions related to investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James and other political figures, with Cleary alleging political targeting and sharing her experience of being falsely identified in the January 6 Capitol attack.
The US Senate confirmed former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as the top federal prosecutor for Washington, DC, after President Trump withdrew his initial pick, amid a background of her media career, political attempts, and legal controversies.
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Pam Bondi, a staunch pro-Israel advocate, as the new US Attorney-General. Bondi, who has previously served as Florida's Attorney-General, has made controversial remarks about pro-Palestinian protesters, calling them "ignorant children" and suggesting they should be deported. Her appointment aligns with Trump's history of pro-Israel nominations, including John Ratcliffe for CIA Director and Mike Waltz for National Security Advisor.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has called the House Ethics Committee's report on Matt Gaetz a 'rough draft' and argues it should not be released, as Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress. The Ethics Committee was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoings against Gaetz, who resigned before the report's release. Johnson suggests the Senate should conduct its own vetting process for Gaetz's nomination as U.S. Attorney General without relying on the unfinished report. Gaetz has denied all allegations.
A federal judge testified to a Senate panel that the Judicial Conference failed to inform its full membership of complaints raised by lawmakers and watchdog groups about Justice Clarence Thomas' pattern of nondisclosure on his financial reports more than 10 years ago. The complaints asked the conference to refer the matter to the US attorney general to probe whether the justice's behavior ran afoul of a federal ethics law. The Judicial Conference defended its decision more than 10 years ago to not refer Thomas to the DOJ to investigate allegations that his pattern of nondisclosure on his financial reports broke federal law.