Trump soon expected to nominate Todd Blanche to be attorney general, source says

(CNN) — President Donald Trump is soon expected to nominate Todd Blanche to be attorney general, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The nomination could be announced as soon as tonight, the source and another person familiar said. The president mentioned his decision at a private dinner at the White House on Wednesday, the two sources said.

When Trump makes the nomination official, it will end Blanche’s two months serving in the role in an acting capacity since his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was fired. Since then, Blanche, Trump’s firebrand former personal attorney, has taken great pains to prove to the president that he is up for the job.

The White House would not confirm the president’s decision, but in a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump has a great relationship with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and is very pleased with the job he’s doing so far.”

She added, “Todd Blanche is an American patriot who fearlessly fought against the Democrats’ unprecedented lawfare campaign on behalf of President Trump. The President’s entire team at the Department of Justice is doing a great job advocating for sanity, law and order, and policies that keep Americans safe.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Blanche’s impending nomination has been all but a presumption from the beginning. The president has often suggested the job was Blanche’s to lose and has lauded him as a loyal ally and skilled litigator.

Over the past several weeks, Blanche has only garnered more favor at the White House. He secured indictments against some of the president’s personal foes like former FBI Director James Comey, rolled back gun control measures and issued subpoenas to journalists for their sources. He’s also announced sweeping fraud initiatives across the country, which work hand-in-hand with the White House’s “war on fraud.”

But critics, citing those same efforts, say that Blanche has effectuated the president’s personal and political agenda to use the Justice Department as his own attack mechanism.

His expected nomination comes in the thick of continued pushback against the department over the proposed $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate people who say they were wrongly prosecuted by the government. The fund was initially announced as part of a settlement between the Internal Revenue Service and the president, his adult sons and the Trump Organization.

Republicans on Capitol Hill revolted over the fund — with many especially anxious over the potential for January 6, 2021, rioters to get payouts.

After weeks of fierce and unrelenting pushback from the president’s own party, Blanche announced Tuesday that the department was abandoning the effort.

Blanche, for his part, has vociferously stated his desire for the job and his support for the president. In a press conference just after he was appointed acting attorney general, Blanche told reporters that working for Trump is “the greatest honor of a lifetime.”

“If he chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will say: ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir,’” he said.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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