# Todd Blanche Confirmation The Senate confirmed **[[Todd Blanche]]** as Attorney General in an early-morning vote on **8 August 2026**, **50–49**. Blanche had been serving as acting Attorney General. He is Trump's former personal criminal defense attorney. ## The vote Two Republicans crossed to oppose him: **[[Susan Collins]]** of Maine and **[[Lisa Murkowski]]** of Alaska. Their stated concerns were the **Epstein files** and the so-called **"anti-weaponization" fund**. With Murkowski opposed and **Mitch McConnell absent**, the decisive vote was **Bill Cassidy** of Louisiana, whose support on the Friday cleared the path to the Saturday-morning confirmation. ## Why it matters for the KB **1. The president's personal defense lawyer now runs the department that prosecutes.** Blanche represented Trump personally in criminal matters before entering the government. The Attorney General's traditional dual role — the president's lawyer and the country's chief law enforcement officer — has always been in tension; appointing the man who defended the president individually collapses the distinction as a matter of biography rather than of doctrine. **2. A 50–49 confirmation is a near-miss, and near-misses are informative.** Two Republicans defecting on an Attorney General nomination is unusual. That both cited the **Epstein files** specifically is more so — it indicates the file question retains enough force inside the Republican conference to cost votes on a Cabinet confirmation, which is not true of most controversies the vault tracks. **3. The "anti-weaponization" fund is the other objection and it is the structural one.** A dedicated fund attached to reversing prior prosecutions is a mechanism, not a rhetorical posture, and Collins and Murkowski named it as a reason to vote no. See the [[Department of Justice]] material. **4. The margin depended on an absence.** McConnell not voting is what made Cassidy decisive. Confirmations decided by who is in the room are worth recording precisely, because the counterfactual is narrow. ## Reaction - [[Michael Luttig - badge of shame]] — retired conservative appellate judge on the senators who voted yes ## See Also - [[Todd Blanche]] — the nominee - [[Department of Justice]] · [[Pam Bondi]] — his predecessor - [[Susan Collins]] · [[Lisa Murkowski]] — the two Republican no votes - [[Jeffrey Epstein]] — the file question that cost votes