U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) that he intended to nominate his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche as attorney general on a permanent basis.

U.S. Democrats say Pam Bondi refuses to answer Trump questions in Epstein probe

Todd Blanche currently serves as acting chief of the Justice Department after Mr. Trump fired attorney general Pam Bondi following scrutiny over her handling of the release of investigative files regarding late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Blanche, the former number two in the Justice Department, has since pursued indictments for Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies, including former FBI director James Comey.

Mr. Trump told guests at a White House dinner that he planned to formally nominate Mr. Blanche to the official role on Thursday (June 4, 2026), according to footage shared by a White House official on social media. “Tomorrow, I’m instructing… that we are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Mr. Trump said in the clip shared by Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff.

Mr. Blanche has led the Justice Department while it attempted a contentious plan to create a $1.8 billion compensation fund that critics denounced as a “slush fund” for Mr. Trump’s political allies.

The fund was floated as part of a settlement of a lawsuit Mr. Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with an addendum to the settlement that barred the agency from investigating Mr. Trump for back tax claims.

Mr. Blanche told the Congress on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) that the compensation fund would not be moving forward but Mr. Trump’s IRS protection would remain in place.