The U.S. Senate, during a rare overnighter, confirmed Todd Blanche as President Donald Trump’s attorney general, one of a handful of votes taken as the senators prepared to leave for an August recess.
The 50-49 vote mostly was along party lines, with only two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, joining the Democrat party, which routinely opposes anything proposed by Trump.
The result came after Blanche negotiated language for senators who demanded confirmation that a proposed “anti-weaponization” fund proposal would not be pursued.
According to a report at the Washington Examiner, that had been expected to provide compensation for those injured by the Joe Biden administration following the Jan. 6, protest-turned-riot at the Capitol.
Some of those individuals, accused of little more than trespass, spent months, even years in jail as politicized prosecutors sought to impose extraordinary penalties on them. Some prosecutors insisted that the trespassers actually were trying to overthrow the U.S. government, which would involve taking over the economy, the military, foreign policy and more.
That assurance was enough to earn the support of Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., both of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
NEW: An overnight voting blitz in Washington ends with Todd Blanche surviving and President Trump getting his new attorney general.
Senators pushed through votes into early Saturday morning as lawmakers scrambled to wrap up their work before leaving the Capitol.
They passed a… pic.twitter.com/rzU4ZE1blQ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 8, 2026
It was Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who long has criticized Trump, who became the decider by just days ago saying he would vote for confirmation.
“Cassidy announced his support in a floor speech that ended weeks of suspense surrounding Blanche’s nomination and cleared the way for his confirmation. On any party-line vote, Republicans could only afford to lose two GOP members due to the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,” the report said.
Pam Bondi stepped down from the post in April, and Blanche, who had been a deputy, has been serving as acting attorney general since.
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General,” Blanche said in a statement released after the vote, adding that he was “grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process.”
I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence President Trump has placed in me to lead the Department of Justice as our great nation’s 88th Attorney General.
I am grateful to the Senate for staying late to complete this process.
To the dedicated public servants of the…
— Acting AG Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) August 8, 2026
Senators also approved a bipartisan bill funding the government until after the 2026 election by a 90-6 vote.
Collins complained that the DOJ was becoming “too political” based on the facts she wasn’t getting her way on several issues, including the fund, indictments of those suspected of crimes and Blanche’s opposition to the random delivery of abortion chemicals to women, and men, across the country.
Murkowski was unhappy with Blanche’s actions on files concerning the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and accused the DOJ of being weaponized.
