President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the AG position permanently.
Blanche will face a tough road to confirmation in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judiciary member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Semafor in April that Blanche’s statements about Jan. 6 put him in “dangerous waters.”
Blanche also didn’t quite win over the Senate GOP with his defense of Trump’s now-abandoned “anti-weaponization” fund in May, which Trump scrapped this week.
The nomination may be a tactic to keep Blanche in an acting role longer, following recent presidential precedent. Tapped as acting attorney general in April after Pam Bondi’s ouster, Blanche solidified his position in part by arguing that Trump has a “right” to suggest Justice Department targets; Trump told the New York Post this week that he’s “done a very good job.”