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Blanche sworn in as attorney general, formally taking reins at DOJ

Washington — Todd Blanche was sworn in as attorney general at the White House on Monday after the Senate narrowly voted to confirm the president’s former defense lawyer to helm the Justice Department over the weekend. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a video of Blanche taking the oath of office in the Oval Office. Judge Emil Bove, who served alongside Blanche on Mr. Trump’s legal defense team before Bove was appointed to the federal bench, administered the oath as the president looked on.

Blanche has served as the acting attorney general since Pam Bondi’s ouster in April, after working as deputy attorney general. He was formally nominated as the nation’s top law enforcement official in June. 

The Senate confirmed Blanche early Saturday morning following a marathon overnight session as senators prepared to depart for their August recess. For weeks, Blanche’s prospects appeared uncertain, as Democrats pledged to oppose his nomination, and several Republicans voiced concerns. 

For a number of Republicans, the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, aimed at providing payouts to people who alleged they were wronged by the federal government, was at the center of their consternation. Although Blanche testified in June that the fund was “dead,” concern persisted among some Republicans, including Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. But the pair dropped their opposition last week after Blanche issued an order rescinding his directive that established the fund.

After Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced that they would oppose Blanche’s nomination last week, the decisive vote came down to Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Cassidy has been more willing to break with his party in recent months after he was defeated by a Trump-endorsed challenger, and had remained mum on his support for the acting attorney general. Then, in a short speech on the Senate floor Friday, Cassidy announced he would back Blanche, in a move that he later said wasn’t a “black or white decision.” 

“Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche,” Cassidy said in his remarks on the floor. “It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”

With Cassidy’s support, Blanche’s nomination eked through in a 50-49 vote. 

Blanche’s rise to the attorney general post comes after he became a prominent figure in Mr. Trump’s orbit ahead of his return to the White House. 

Blanche joined Mr. Trump’s legal defense team in 2023, after Mr. Trump was indicted in a case related to “hush money” payments to Stormy Daniels in 2016. Mr. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts in May 2024.

Mr. Trump nominated Blanche to be deputy attorney general shortly after winning the presidential election in November 2024. 

Blanche received his law degree from Brooklyn Law School and clerked for two federal judges in New York before he was hired to work as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Blanche later joined the law firm WilmerHale in New York, before going on to work at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft until 2023, when he started his own firm, Blanche Law.

Watch Live: Trump signs order on vaccination recommendations

▶ Watch Video: CBS News Live 2 Washington — President Trump signed an executive order on Monday laying out new recommendations for childhood vaccinations, saying that while "we do not know" exactly what the cause of autism is, it is "essential" to have the "best vaccine recommendations in the entire world." A draft of the order, which was obtained by CBS News before the president signed it, said there should be a more limited number of vaccines recommended for children. It directed the Health and Human Services Department to reassess vaccine sequencing and timing within 90 days. The draft order CBS News reviewed didn't mention autism, but the president did — repeatedly.  As he prepared to sign the order, Mr. Trump said, "Today, we're proud to officially announce the United States of America's Gold Standard Childhood Vaccination Recommendations and that has to do with many subjects but including autism in particular," said the president. "Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines required today," the president said. "In those times, people were much healthier and of course, the high rates of autism now observed did not exist. So, there's a reason for such epidemic rates of autism. And we're going to bring it back to much closer to where it was.""While we do not know exactly what the cause is with respect to autism, it is essential to our research efforts that we have the very best vaccine recommendations in the entire world," he continued. "So we're reducing them, we're changing it to visits over the period of a year, a year and a half, so they get 20% of what they would have gotten in one big shot." The president cited no evidence for his claims. Research has found no evidence of increased rates of autism among those who are vaccinated compared to those who are not. Vaccines also undergo intensive safety testing. Research shows that genetics play a role in autism diagnoses. The NIH says some possible risk factors for autism include prenatal exposure to pesticides or air pollution, extreme prematurity or low birth weight, certain maternal health conditions, or parents conceiving at an older age. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said next month, the federal government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is "preparing a major new initiative focused on foundational causes and biology of autism.""We will examine every biologically plausible hypothesis and leave no legitimate, scientific question unexplored," Kennedy said. "Mr. President, you have told us you want answers, so do I. We have just over two years to finish the work and I know you're impatient. And we are moving with an urgency that that deadline demands. We will bring you actions and findings as soon as they are read." The president said the announcement is a "major victory" for parents and constitutional rights. While the CDC advises states on policy, states set policies for school immunization schedules.  The draft order also encouraged single-dose vaccines, rather than combination shots, saying, "to the maximum extent feasible, all childhood immunizations should be administered at separate medical visits." For instance, it recommends breaking the MMR vaccine into three shots. The order puts some vaccines, like RSV and hepatitis A and B, in a category of shots only for high-risk children. It comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January recommended reducing the number of childhood vaccinations for 11 diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics broke with the CDC and continued to recommend vaccination against 18 childhood diseases. In March, a federal judge blocked the CDC's recommended changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.The draft order cited recent efforts to align the vaccine schedule with what it calls "best practices" from peer nations, along with protecting religious liberty and parental authority. But it acknowledges  that litigation has resulted in delayed implementation of that push, leading the administration to pursue additional measures. "In many cases, we were requiring 72 jabs for our beautiful, healthy, lovely, delicate little children," the president said. The American Academy of Pediatrics pointed out that so-called "peer nations" have different vaccination needs, and best practices vary. It said vaccine guidance may differ across countries because they face threats from different diseases, population demographics, health care systems and vaccine availability.Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, was asked about plans for the executive order Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.""I think that parents, for most kids, especially for the measles vaccines, the DTP, all the standard childhood vaccines, it's very important that parents vaccinate their kids," Bhattacharya said."I trust the science" on childhood vaccines, Bhattacharya added, and noted that he has vaccinated his own children.The executive order comes as measles cases have risen to their highest levels in 35 years. Bhattacharya, who's also been serving as acting CDC director in recent months, acknowledged that the U.S. may lose its measles elimination status, while pointing to other countries that have recently lost their status.
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