In a victory for President Donald Trump, the Senate confirmed early Saturday morning Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, as the head of the United States Department of Justice. The vote was 50 to 49.
Blanche expressed on his social media that he was "deeply honored by the trust that President Trump placed in me" and was "very grateful" to the senators for working late into the night to advance his nomination.
With this confirmation, Trump once again defeated the Republican establishment, which viewed Blanche's role as the chief state prosecutor with suspicion. The official was approved by a narrow margin: Republican senators Susan Collins (from Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (from Alaska) voted against him, along with the entire Democratic block.
For Blanche to be confirmed in the position, he had to promise that he would archive the $1.8 billion compensation fund that Trump proposed for victims of criminal prosecution during the Obama and Biden administrations. This gesture was enough to convince Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, the key vote that gave the green light on Friday morning.
