Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos set the tone on his first official day running the Justice Department, as he moved quickly after being announced as acting attorney general on Tuesday in Washington, D. C. The memos come as questions build over whether he will be formally nominated or remain in the role for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term. Blanche also signaled that his long-term status could stay unresolved.
What Blanche said on day one
At a news conference at the Justice Department, Blanche said he did not have any “goals or aspirations” about the job’s long-term future. He said, “I love working for President Trump. It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime, ” and added that if Trump keeps him as acting attorney general, nominates him, or chooses someone else, “that’s an honor. ”
The phrase Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos now sits alongside a broader question inside the department: whether Trump will formally nominate Blanche or leave him in place in an acting capacity. Several GOP senators, including some who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said they had no direct insight into Trump’s next move.
How Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos fit the confirmation fight
The issue is not just staffing. It is also about how long an acting attorney general can remain in place without Senate confirmation. The context points to a precedent involving Julie Su, who served as acting secretary of labor for nearly two years without a Senate vote on her nomination.
Su was formally nominated by Joe Biden on March 1, 2023, but the nomination stalled. Because it remained pending before the Senate, she stayed in the acting role through the end of Biden’s presidency, a total of 22 months. The Government Accountability Office also ruled that Su could remain in place, despite the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which would otherwise limit the acting period to seven months.
Legal and procedural experts cited in the context believe the Government Accountability Office would likely rule the same way on a Blanche nomination. That could allow Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos to be the start of a longer stay even if the Senate does not confirm him.
What the Senate and DOJ are watching
It is unclear whether Blanche could win Senate confirmation as attorney general. The Senate confirmed him on a party-line vote last year to serve as deputy attorney general, but the political environment is different now.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has said he will not vote for any nominee who “excused” the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He is the deciding vote on the Judiciary Committee, and his opposition would sink any Trump nominee. The context says there is no evidence Blanche excused the violence or praised the rioters, though he did cheer Trump’s pardons of the rioters during an appearance last week at CPAC.
Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos also come with broader institutional stakes. Some senators previously worried that the Su situation could weaken the Senate’s advice-and-consent power on presidential nominations.
What comes next
For now, Blanche is in place, the memos are out, and the White House has not made the next step public. Trump could nominate Blanche, pick someone new, or leave him as acting attorney general.
The immediate test is whether Todd Blanche Acting Ag Memos are a brief opening move or the first sign of a longer, unresolved stretch at the top of the Justice Department. For now, the answer remains open, and the next move rests with Trump.
