Trump to nominate Todd Blanche as attorney general

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to become the nation’s permanent top prosecutor, a move that would put his former personal lawyer formally in charge of the Justice Department after months of politically charged decisions.

Trump announced the plan Wednesday evening during a private event in the White House Rose Garden, according to a video posted on social media by White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.

“He’s acting attorney general,” Trump said in the video, referring to Blanche. “Tomorrow I’m instructing Dan and everybody else that’s involved in that very complicated process, which is going to be, I think, very quickly, that we are going to make him permanent attorney general.”

Scavino captioned the video: “President Trump with an announcement tonight at the @WhiteHouse…Congratulations @TheJusticeDept@DAGToddBlanche.” Several people familiar with the matter also told CBS News that Trump was expected to nominate Blanche.

Blanche has led the Justice Department on an acting basis since April, when Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. He previously served as deputy attorney general and, before joining the administration, was one of Trump’s personal defense attorneys. Blanche represented Trump in his New York hush money case, which resulted in a conviction on 34 felony counts. Trump has denied the charges.

The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. Blanche was confirmed last year as deputy attorney general in a 52-46 vote.

Trump had signaled the move earlier this week. In an interview Tuesday with the New York Post’s Miranda Devine, he said, “I think he will” become permanent attorney general and added that he did not have any other candidates in mind. “We put him as acting, and he’s done a very good job,” Trump said.

Since taking over the department, Blanche has overseen several sensitive and contentious matters. In late April, the Justice Department announced charges against former FBI Director James Comey, accusing him of threatening Trump’s life by posting a photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47.” Comey has denied that he was making any threat.

Blanche told CBS News last month that the Comey case was not politically motivated and said it was spearheaded by “local prosecutors” and “local agents” in North Carolina.

The April indictment marked the second time the Trump administration had sought to prosecute Comey. A previous case, based on allegations that Comey lied to Congress five years earlier, was dismissed in November. The same judge also dismissed a case against New York Attorney General Letitia James after ruling that the federal prosecutor involved had been “unlawfully appointed.”

NBC News reported that Bondi was fired in part over her lack of success pursuing Trump’s perceived political foes.

Blanche has also faced pressure from lawmakers in both parties over a proposed $1.776 billion Justice Department settlement fund, described as an “anti-weaponization fund,” for people who say they were victims of government persecution. CBS News reported the fund was part of a settlement in a lawsuit between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service. NBC News reported the proposed fund was $1.8 billion.

Earlier this week, Blanche told members of Congress the department is “not moving forward” with the fund after a court ruling temporarily blocked its implementation. CBS News reported that a separate portion of the settlement, promising not to audit any of Trump’s previous tax returns, still appears to be intact.