Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday for confirmation as attorney general. As one of Donald Trump's most loyal enforcers, Blanche served as deputy attorney general and then acting attorney general after Trump fired Pam Bondi in April. He oversaw the purge of career employees tied to Trump investigations and steered the department toward punishing political rivals and pursuing debunked 2020 election conspiracy theories.

Blanche's tenure includes firing prosecutors for anti-abortion work, indicting the Southern Poverty Law Center on questionable charges, and charging former FBI director James Comey over a seashell display. Prosecutors have been reprimanded for misrepresentations, eroding the "presumption of regularity." He also vacated serious January 6 convictions and approved a $10 billion tax lawsuit settlement creating a $1.8 billion slush fund — later scrapped after a federal judge called the suit collusive.

Blanche faces scrutiny over the Epstein files release, which contained sloppy redactions identifying victims while protecting associates. Pam Bondi testified Blanche was "in charge" of the release. His prison meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell preceded her unprecedented transfer to a minimum-security camp. Over 1,200 former Justice Department employees oppose his confirmation, arguing his "guiding star is fealty to the president, not the constitution."