Trump attorney general pick faces fiery Senate confirmation hearing

President Donald Trump's pick to be the next US attorney general -- his former defense lawyer Todd Blanche -- came in for harsh criticism from Democrats at his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

"In less than 18 months at the Department of Justice you've shown you're still President Trump's personal attorney," Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in his opening remarks.

"This nation deserves an attorney general who loves the Constitution more than any single president," Durbin said. "An attorney general focused on keeping America safe and combating corruption, not satisfying the president's personal grievances."

Blanche is expected to face tough questioning from Democrats and potentially some Republicans during his appearance before the Senate panel.

A sole Republican "no" vote on the panel could be enough to torpedo the 51-year-old Blanche's appointment to be the chief law enforcement officer of the United States.

Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since Pam Bondi was fired by Trump and has been closely tied to what Democrats have dubbed a "retribution" campaign by the Republican president against his perceived political enemies.

Former FBI director James Comey, an outspoken Trump critic, is among those who have been targeted by the Department of Justice under Blanche. Comey was indicted in April for allegedly threatening Trump's life in an Instagram post.

Blanche has also controversially defended a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" to compensate Trump's political allies and a deal that shielded the president from audits of his past tax returns.

The administration has since dropped plans to create what Democrats denounced as a "slush fund" and a federal judge on Monday voided the settlement with the Internal Revenue Service.

Blanche has also come in for criticism from victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of the release of investigative files about the convicted sex offender, a one-time close friend of Trump.

"Under Blanche's leadership at the Department of Justice, Epstein survivors' personal information -- including their names, phone numbers, and home addresses -- was exposed, while the names of many alleged abusers and other powerful individuals connected to Epstein remained redacted," they said in a statement.

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, defended Blanche, saying he was doing a "phenomenal job" battling crime as acting attorney general and "every Republican senator" should vote to confirm him.

- 'Gone after Trump's enemies' -

Prior to joining the Department of Justice last year, Blanche represented Trump in his New York trial over alleged "hush money" paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

He was also on the legal defense team in two federal cases brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith -- for allegedly mishandling classified documents and for seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, urged fellow lawmakers to give a thumbs down to Blanche's nomination.

Blanche's "number one client" has been Trump, Schumer said, but "as attorney general, your number one client should be the United States of America."

"Blanche has gone after Trump's enemies, covered up Trump's crimes, and shielded Trump from the consequences," Schumer said.

Republicans have a majority on the Senate panel but at least two Republicans -- Senator Thom Tillis, who is retiring, and Senator John Cornyn, who was defeated in a primary after Trump backed his opponent -- have expressed concerns about Blanche's appointment.

More than 1,200 former Department of Justice employees have signed on to a letter opposing Blanche's nomination, citing his role in firing hundreds of career officials and instilling a "culture of fear" in the workforce.

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© Agence France-Presse