Todd Blanche

Todd Wallace Blanche (; born August 6, 1974) is an American attorney and former prosecutor who is the 88th United States attorney general, having served in an acting capacity from April 2026 until his confirmation in August. Blanche has also served as the 40th deputy U.S. attorney general from 2025 to 2026 and as the acting librarian of Congress since 2025, although the legality of the latter appointment has been disputed. Blanche graduated from American University in 1994 and from Brooklyn Law School in 2003. He worked in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York's violent crimes division for eight years. In 2017, Blanche became a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Blanche represented several figures associated with president Donald Trump and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, including Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, Igor Fruman, and Boris Epshteyn. In April 2023, Trump hired Blanche to defend him for concealed hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and he led Trump's defense in the 2024 criminal trial. Blanche later defended Trump in cases involving federal classified documents and election obstruction. In November 2024, following his victory in the 2024 presidential election, president-elect Donald Trump announced Blanche as his nominee for deputy attorney general. Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in March 2025. In May 2025, Trump dismissed the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, and named Blanche to succeed her. The staff of the Library of Congress and Hayden disputed Trump's authority to appoint Blanche without the consent of the Senate, arguing that Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian, was Hayden's lawful successor. In April 2026, Trump fired Pam Bondi as attorney general and Blanche became her acting successor. In June, Trump nominated Blanche to serve as attorney general. On August 10, Blanche was officially sworn...