WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump announced that he planned to soon make Todd Blanche “permanent Attorney-General” months after he assumed that post in an acting capacity, according to a video posted by a White House aide on the night of June 3.

Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, has been leading the Justice Department since the president dismissed Attorney-General Pam Bondi in early April.

Before that, he had been Bondi’s chief deputy.

The video, posted by Dan Scavino, an assistant to the president, showed Trump making the announcement during a Rose Garden event.

CNN and Politico reported earlier that Trump intended to nominate Blanche as the nation’s top US law enforcement officer.

That nomination must be approved by the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a very thin majority that they must defend in midterm elections this November. 

Blanche, who has shown enthusiasm for carrying out Trump’s agenda and defended prosecutions of some of the president’s opponents, will face intense scrutiny from Democrats and perhaps some Republicans over the turmoil at the department since Trump returned to office in January 2025.

Thousands of federal prosecutors and FBI agents have been fired or resigned.

Blanche told reporters in April that he hadn’t been pressured to carry out retribution against Trump’s political enemies.

At his confirmation hearing, he will almost certainly be asked about his role in the