Overview
- Blanche was sworn in as U.S. attorney general after a narrow 50–49 Senate vote and has moved from acting to confirmed leadership of the Justice Department.
- On Sunday he told NBC’s Meet the Press he would not promise the DOJ would always act independently of the White House and said he would take the president’s views into consideration on individual prosecutions.
- Blanche also insisted President Trump would never ask him to cross an ethical or legal line and framed his commitment as acting with integrity rather than a formal pledge of independence.
- He repeated that the contested $1.8 billion ‘anti‑weaponization’ compensation fund is dead while acknowledging that existing claims processes could still lead to payments, and he said the DOJ may ask the Supreme Court to review its losses in state voter‑roll lawsuits.
- Legal experts, former prosecutors and lawmakers quickly criticized Blanche’s comments, and the department faces active court fights — including a judge’s probe of withheld Epstein files and multiple losses over voter‑roll suits — that will test his promises and the DOJ’s capacity after large staff departures.