Senate has advanced Todd Blanche's AG nomination. We've investigated these claims about him

Blanche's nomination narrowly advanced out of committee after Republican holdouts John Cornyn and Thom Tillis switched their votes. Published Aug. 6, 2026 After U.S. President Donald Trump removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post in April 2026, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who represented Trump in three of the four criminal cases he faced between 2021 and 2025, became the acting leader of the Justice Department. Trump nominated Blanche for the permanent role in June. For a few weeks, it was unclear whether Blanche's nomination would even advance out of committee. Senators debated whether he could be trusted to kill a proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" dedicated to individuals claiming they were unfairly prosecuted by the federal government (which could include the perpetrators of the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted insurrection) and unprecedented protection from IRS audits for Trump, his businesses and his family. Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, Republicans from Texas and North Carolina who are retiring at the end of this term, were not convinced to vote for Blanche until they received written assurances from the attorney general hopeful confirming that he would kill the anti-weaponization fund and limit the scope of the protection from audits. (Democrats suggest these written assurances have plenty of loopholes, according to the New York Times). Blanche's prominent position in the Trump administration makes him a target for misinformation. In advance of his Senate nomination, here are five claims about Blanche Snopes has previously fact-checked: Sources Barrett, Devlin. "Documents Blanche Released to Ease Path to Confirmation Leave Loopholes." The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/politics/todd-blanche-trump-irs-fund-loopholes.html.Deng, Rae. "Posts Claim Trump Appointed Ghislaine Maxwell's Former Defense Attorney as Acting AG. Here's the Real Story." Snopes, 1 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-ghislaine-maxwell-attorney-general/.Duehren, Andrew. "Republicans Let Trump Keep Unparalleled Benefit: I.R.S. Immunity." The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/business/trump-irs-todd-blanche.html.Esposito, Joey. "Did Acting AG Todd Blanche Say Predators Won't Be Prosecuted in Epstein Case? There's No Proof." Snopes, 28 Apr. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/blanche-esptein-prosecution-quote/.———. "Trump Said Acting AG Todd Blanche Kept Him 'out of Jail for Years.'" Snopes, 13 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-blanche-jail-quote/.———. "What Acting AG Todd Blanche Said about Bullets after White House Correspondents' Dinner Shooting." Snopes, 28 Apr. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/todd-blanche-bullets-ballistics/.Liles, Jordan. "Acting AG Todd Blanche Compared Voter ID to Being Carded at 'restaurant or Club.' Here Are the Facts." Snopes, 6 May 2026, https://www.snopes.com//news/2026/05/06/todd-blanche-voter-id-restaurant/.Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund | United States Department of Justice. 18 May 2026, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund."Pam Bondi." Ballotpedia, https://ballotpedia.org/Pam_Bondi. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.Rice, Andrew. "Inside Todd Blanche's Plan to Keep Donald Trump Out of Jail." Intelligencer, 22 Apr. 2024, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-trial-lawyer-todd-blanche-defense.html.Thrush, Glenn, and Michael Gold. "The Vote Paves the Way for Todd Blanche's Confirmation as Attorney General." The New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/politics/blanche-confirmation-attorney-general-justice-department.html?smid=url-share. By Jack Izzo Jack Izzo is a Chicago-based journalist and two-time "Jeopardy!" alumnus. Article Tags