US Attorney General Todd Blanche with President Donald Trump at a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC on April 15, 2026. [AFP]
Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, was sworn in as US attorney general on Monday, taking the reins of a Justice Department the president has repeatedly pressured to exact revenge on his political foes.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted video on X of Blanche's swearing-in ceremony, which was held in the Oval Office with Trump in attendance. "Congratulations to a great lawyer and an even better man!" Leavitt said.
The 52-year-old Blanche was confirmed as the chief US law enforcement officer by the Senate last week after Republican lawmakers shrugged off Democratic concerns over politicization of the Justice Department.
He had been serving as attorney general in an acting capacity since Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, in part for failing to successfully prosecute several of Trump's political enemies.
Bondi notably failed to bring cases to trial against former FBI chief James Comey, an outspoken Trump critic, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Since replacing Bondi, Blanche has been closely tied to what Democrats have dubbed a Trump "retribution" campaign against the 80-year-old president's opponents, securing, for example, a new indictment of Comey for allegedly threatening Trump's life in an Instagram post.