Senate confirms Todd Blanche, Trump's former lawyer, as Attorney General

The US Senate has confirmed Todd Blanche, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, as Attorney General. The confirmation vote was 50-49, with Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski opposing him, and Senator Bill Cassidy casting the deciding vote.

Blanche had served as acting Attorney General since April and previously ran day-to-day Justice Department operations as its second-ranking official. His nomination was met with opposition from Democrats, who accused Trump of politicizing the Department of Justice. Some Republican senators also raised concerns about Blanche's handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents and his role in establishing a $1.8 billion fund.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Blanche overcame challenges by agreeing in writing to narrow a tax-immunity agreement and end payments from the fund, which critics called a slush fund for Trump's allies. All Democrats voted against his nomination to lead the Justice Department.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, Jerusalem Post, Punch Nigeria, BBC World, Live Mint — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.