WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday sent to the Senate the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to fill the role permanently, teeing up what could be a bruising confirmation process for a Trump ally who has drawn bipartisan criticism for recent Justice Department moves.

The president’s former defense attorney has pursued an aggressive agenda during his short tenure as the acting head of the department, including indictments against perceived political enemies of the president such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and former FBI Director James Comey.

Blanche has been tied to an array of rolling controversies at the Justice Department, including the handling of the release of Epstein files and now-scrapped plans to set up a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that critics say could be funneled to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The idea for the fund was outlined as part of a settlement in the unprecedented $10 billion lawsuit that Trump brought against the IRS earlier this year, a scenario in which Trump sued the same federal government he oversees.

Democrats have also laced into Blanche for signing a memo, similarly tied to the settlement of the Trump lawsuit against the IRS, that outlined a sweeping pledge in which the IRS is “forever barred” from “examinations” against Trump, certain members of his family, the Trump Organization or “related or affiliated individuals.”

The nomination is also sure to test Trump’s influence among Senate Republicans, some of whom expressed deep concern with the “anti-weaponization” fund, specifically over its scope and who would be eligible to receive funding under the structure.

Democrats and some Republicans raised the concern that it would be used to compensate defendants who attacked police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and who Trump later pardoned.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, in a statement released after the White House sent the nomination, called Blanche “well-qualified” and said he appreciates his “commitment to transparency and support for law enforcement.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s work to process Blanche’s nomination is underway,” Grassley said.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement after Monday’s nomination that Trump “has been engaged in the most corrupt enterprise in the history of the Presidency.”

“Todd Blanche apparently has not noticed,” Durbin said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Judiciary Committee that holds confirmation hearings for Justice Department nominees, told reporters Wednesday he has “a lot of respect” for Blanche and acknowledged that he will face criticism in the process for previously serving as Trump’s personal attorney.

Tillis also laid out one of his “circuit breakers” for nominees: supporting people involved in the Jan. 6 attack. The current 12-10 breakdown of the committee would give Tillis or any other lone Republican the ability to deadlock the panel.

“J6 is a circuit breaker for me. It’s not a gray area for me. He either equivocated and said harming these Capitol police officers was an OK thing, or he didn’t, and we’ll find that in the due diligence,” Tillis said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Thursday that she would have numerous questions about Blanche’s involvement in the creation of the $1.8 billion fund.

“I think there’s several aspects about the fund and how it was created, and then kind of how it was announced,” that she would want answers about, Murkowski said.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called the idea of Blanche as attorney general a “terrible idea” and said he hoped the nomination would fail.

“I hope he would face withering questioning from both Republicans and Democrats about how did you come up with the idea for this ridiculous $1.8 billion slush fund, and why did you think that was a good idea, and what does this tell us about what your leadership would be like as attorney general? And then he gets defeated,” Coons said.

Blanche also will likely face criticism over the Justice Department’s handling of the release of documents and investigative materials related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a federal prison sentence. Blanche made the announcement in January that the DOJ had produced of almost 3.5 million pages ordered under a law Congress passed last year.

Blanche has also faced criticism over how the prison system has treated Maxwell. In a letter last year to Justice Department officials, a group of House Democrats said the department transferred Maxwell from a federal correctional institution to a “relatively luxurious” minimum security prison camp in Texas, a facility that was more comfortable and lower security.

Epstein survivors say the department overly redacted information that could identify people who may have been co-conspirators or enablers of Epstein’s abuse, while committing egregious errors in failing to fully redact the names and identifying information of victims.

A transcript of an interview by the House oversight panel with former Attorney General Pamela Bondi about the handling of the Epstein case released Thursday showed she referenced Blanche’s involvement in the case dozens of times.

The Comey indictment, announced by Blanche, alleged that Comey threatened Trump by posting a photo of seashells on a beach that spelled out “86 47.”

In March 2025, the Senate voted 52-46 to confirm Blanche as deputy attorney general, the No. 2 role known for running the day-to-day operations of the department. No Republicans voted against him.

Trump ousted Pamela Bondi as attorney general in April and tapped Blanche to lead the department.

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