Todd Blanche Squeaks Through a Divided Senate

Todd Blanche won confirmation as attorney general in a razor-thin 50-49 Senate vote after an overnight fight that exposed how deeply partisan the Justice Department has become.

Quick Take

Senators confirmed Blanche early Saturday after a tense, late-night vote.
The final count was 50-49, showing almost no margin for error.
Republican support held after a committee fight over a disputed IRS-related deal.
Backers pointed to Blanche’s earlier Senate-confirmed work at the Justice Department.

Senate Sends Blanche Through by One Vote

The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, as attorney general after an overnight vote that ended 50-49. The result gave Trump another Justice Department leader who cleared the chamber on the slimmest possible margin, with only one Republican senator absent from the final count and two Republicans voting no.

The vote came after days of intense pressure inside the Republican conference and another round of public fights over the Justice Department’s direction. Reuters and AP both reported that Blanche’s path to final approval remained uncertain until late in the week, when Sen. Bill Cassidy backed the nomination and helped lock in the needed votes.

Committee Fight Centered on the IRS Settlement

Blanche’s nomination first had to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approved him on a 12-10 party-line vote. That committee fight focused on a contested deal tied to President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, after Republican holdouts said they wanted the arrangement formally ended in writing before they would move ahead.

After that deal was clarified, Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis shifted into support, giving Blanche the opening he needed to survive the committee process. The committee action mattered because it showed that GOP leaders were willing to close ranks, even after days of public hesitation and a postponed vote.

Supporters Framed Blanche as a Tough Law-and-Order Pick

Supporters argued that Blanche had already proven himself inside the Justice Department. The Senate confirmed him as deputy attorney general in March 2025 by a 52-46 vote, giving him prior Senate-backed experience in senior law-enforcement leadership. That earlier post also placed him near the center of federal prosecution policy and Justice Department operations.

The Todd Blanche confirmation vote by the US Senate was narrow. He has been confirmed as Donald Trump's attorney general. https://t.co/D6tpTlnE5a

— ABC30 Fresno (@ABC30) August 8, 2026

Senator John Cornyn also argued that Blanche’s record lined up with public-safety gains, pointing to a Council on Criminal Justice midyear report that showed homicide rates down 51 percent from their peak and carjackings down 73 percent. Cornyn also cited support from more than 300 “angel families,” trying to cast Blanche as a pick backed by victims’ families rather than just party insiders.

What the Narrow Vote Means for the Justice Department

The final count tells a clear story about the political climate around Trump’s second-term Justice Department. Blanche did not win with broad bipartisan backing. He won because Republicans held together just long enough to push him through, even as Democrats warned about his closeness to Trump and his role in controversial Justice Department decisions.

That narrow result will likely shape how Blanche is seen from day one. A 50-49 confirmation gives him the job, but it also leaves him under a cloud of skepticism that comes with a one-vote victory in a deeply divided Senate. For Trump supporters, the win shows that the administration can still deliver a major personnel battle. For critics, it is another sign that the Justice Department remains a political prize instead of a neutral institution.