{
  "id": 313077,
  "title": "The Senate’s Shameful Acquiescence to Todd Blanche as Attorney General",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/the-senates-shameful-acquiescence-to-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-07T22:15:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The New Yorker",
    "slug": "the-new-yorker",
    "url": "https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-senates-shameful-acquiescence-to-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Senate's endorsement of Todd Blanche as Attorney General marks a disappointing endorsement of the current administration's actions. Serving as the Justice Department's No. 2 official for over a year and acting Attorney General since April, Blanche has overseen a department under the control of a vindictive president. His tenure has been marked by a disregard for the department's traditional independence, resulting in politically motivated prosecutions, federal workforce purges, and embarrassing courtroom mistakes.\n\nBlanche's confirmation process was marked by difficulty, reflecting both Trump's waning political standing and senators' dissatisfaction with the DOJ's handling. Despite this, a majority of senators ultimately decided to confirm him, possibly viewing him as the lesser of two evils. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana senator, made the decisive vote to confirm Blanche, stating that while Blanche was not perfect, the alternative could be even worse.\n\nThe confirmation hinged on Blanche's role in settling a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS over the release of his tax returns. Blanche helped create a $1.776 billion \"anti-weaponization\" slush fund, which would have provided reparations for January 6th defendants, and signed a document absolving Trump, his family, and his company from potentially millions in tax liability. The deal was later deemed \"collusive\" by a federal judge, who found Blanche's testimony misleading or dishonest.\n\nRepublicans who had potential concerns were John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, both of whom ultimately voted in favor of Blanche. Their reservations centered on the anti-weaponization fund and the IRS settlement, which they deemed insufficiently addressed. Cornyn and Tillis did not demand the revocation of the IRS immunity arrangement, only requesting a written statement clarifying that it covered only those directly involved in Trump's lawsuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee had wider frustrations with the administration, with Democrats criticizing their fellow senators for their lack of integrity and cowardice in the face of the current administration. Susan Collins ultimately voted against Blanche, citing the same concerns.",
  "summary": "A number of Republicans resisted his confirmation, but enough ultimately accepted the notion that Trump could do even worse.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Associated Press",
        "title": "Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as Trump’s attorney general in overnight vote",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/todd-blanche-narrowly-confirmed-as-trumps-attorney-general-in",
        "published": "2026-08-08T08:53:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Todd Blanche, Trump's ex-lawyer, confirmed as US attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/todd-blanche-trumps-ex-lawyer-confirmed-as-us-attorney-general",
        "published": "2026-08-08T10:19:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Trump’s former personal lawyer narrowly confirmed as US attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/trumps-former-personal-lawyer-narrowly-confirmed-as-us-attorney",
        "published": "2026-08-08T10:36:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "KahawaTungu",
        "title": "Todd Blanche, Trump’s ex-lawyer, confirmed as US attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/todd-blanche-trumps-ex-lawyer-confirmed-as-us-attorney-general-327053",
        "published": "2026-08-08T14:13:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/todd-blanche-narrowly-confirmed-as-attorney-general",
        "published": "2026-08-08T14:43:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "People Daily Kenya",
        "title": "Trump’s former lawyer Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as US attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/trumps-former-lawyer-todd-blanche-narrowly-confirmed-as-us-attorney",
        "published": "2026-08-08T14:54:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour",
        "title": "Todd Blanche narrowly confirmed as Trump's attorney general in overnight vote",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/todd-blanche-narrowly-confirmed-as-trumps-attorney-general-in-313117",
        "published": "2026-08-08T15:18:05.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Haaretz",
        "title": "Senate Republicans narrowly confirm Todd Blanche as Trump's attorney general",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/senate-republicans-narrowly-confirm-todd-blanche-as-trumps-attorney",
        "published": "2026-08-08T16:10:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Dems blast Blanche as enabler of 'Trump’s corruption' after AG confirmation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/dems-blast-blanche-as-enabler-of-trumps-corruption-after-ag",
        "published": "2026-08-08T19:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}