President Trump is expected to nominate Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve in the role permanently, several sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
Blanche has led the Justice Department on an acting basis since Mr. Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in April. He previously was the deputy attorney general and, before that, served as one of Mr. Trump’s personal defense attorneys.
Mr. Trump announced that he would nominate Blanche “tomorrow” during a private event in the White House’s Rose Garden on Wednesday, according to a video posted to social media by White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.
CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Mr. Trump suggested he planned to nominate Blanche in an interview with the New York Post’s Miranda Devine on Tuesday, saying “I think he will” be the permanent attorney general. The president added that he didn’t have any other candidates in mind for the role.
“We put him as acting, and he’s done a very good job,” Mr. Trump said.
The Senate will need to confirm Blanche to the permanent attorney general job. Lawmakers confirmed him as deputy attorney general in a party-line 52-46 vote last year.
As the Justice Department’s first- and second-in-command, Blanche has helped oversee some of the department’s most sensitive and contentious moves since Mr. Trump’s return to the White House last year.
He has faced intense pressure from Democratic and Republican lawmakers in recent days, after the Justice Department chose to settle a lawsuit between Mr. Trump and the Internal Revenue Service by creating a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” for people who allege they were victims of government persecution.
Earlier this week, Blanche told members of Congress the department is “not moving forward” with the fund, following a court ruling that temporarily blocked the Justice Department from implementing it. A separate portion of the settlement that promised not to audit any of Mr. Trump’s previous tax returns still appears to be in tact.
Blanche also announced charges in late April against former FBI Director James Comey, accusing the high-profile Trump foe of threatening the president’s life by posting a photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47.” Comey was previously charged on separate allegations last year, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, but those charges were tossed out after a judge determined the prosecutor was invalidly appointed.
Blanche has denied allegations that the Comey charges were politically motivated, telling CBS News last month the case was spearheaded by “local prosecutors” and “local agents” in North Carolina.
