The agreement Trump and the Justice Department reached in exchange for him dropping his personal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) lawsuit was bound to come up today.

In May, as acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche signed an agreement with Trump to set up a since-abandoned $1.8bn (£1.3bn) "anti-weaponisation" fund for those who believed they were unfairly targeted by the government and also grant Trump (and two of his sons) immunity from tax audits.

The department scrapped the fund soon after, and this week a federal judge voided the lawsuit - eliminating the audit immunity.

Senator Durbin - the top Democrat - earlier pushed Blanche on how he came to the agreement, asking: "Would you like to explain how we can give to the president and his family and businesses exemptions from complying with the tax laws of the United States?"

Blanche replies that "nobody is above the law", and "this type of settlement" - referring to audit resolutions - "is not unique to the Department of Justice or the IRS".

Senator John Cornyn - a Republican - queries whether Trump could still try to enforce the agreement, even though it's since been voided by US District Judge Kathleen Williams.

"I'm not aware that they're planning on doing that," says Blanche, adding that he has had discussions with senators about codifying legislation to ensure the weaponisation fund never happens.

"We very much are OK with that."

• Read more: US judge voids Donald Trump's $1.8bn settlement with IRS that gave him immunity from tax audits

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat of Minnesota, begins a line of questioning about election integrity.

She says the Trump administration has been pushing states to turn over voters' sensitive and private data, and asks Blanche why the administration is threatening to cut anti-terrorism funding to states whose courts have found that data sharing to be unlawful.

Blanche says he won't comment on ongoing litigation, but says that, in general, "election integrity is extraordinarily important to this administration".

"The work that we're doing is to make sure that we have fair and honest elections, the only people voting are the people who are eligible to vote, and that they're only voting once," Blanche adds.

Klobuchar pushes back, asking how can the DOJ be committed to election security when standard briefings between state election officials and federal agencies have not happened.

Blanche says the DOJ is not cutting off communications between federal and state election officials and adds that he doesn't know what she's talking about.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, is now turning to a different issue - shootings and detainments by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Klobuchar says there was a "lack of cooperation" between the federal government and state authorities after immigration officers shot and killed two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minnesota earlier this year.

Blanche says "the definition of full cooperation can be disputed" but federal authorities will work with local officials where needed. He disagrees with some of the news reporting stating that didn't happen in Minnesota.

Klobuchar also brings up other cases, including more recent ICE shootings in Texas and Maine, and a case in which an elderly man was removed from his home in freezing weather in Minnesota.

"People are gonna want accountability in these cases," she says.

"I very much believe in the constitutional protections afforded to American citizens," Blanche says in response. "The same protections are not afforded people who are here illegally."

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Blanche spent several years as Trump’s personal attorney and represented Trump in three of the four major criminal cases he faced leading up to the 2024 election.

That included two ultimately unsuccessful prosecutions brought by the Department of Justice, which Blanche now hopes to lead as a confirmed attorney general (he is now serving in the role in an acting capacity).

Most notably, Blanche headed Trump’s legal defence in his Manhattan criminal trial, sitting at the former and future president's side through the entirety of the six week trial and taking a combative tone with one of prosecutors’ star witness, former Trump fixer Michael Cohen. The jury ultimately convicted Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

After winning re-election, Trump nominated several members of his personal legal team to government positions.

Blanche was picked to serve as the #2 at the Justice Department and Emil Bove, another attorney who represented him in Manhattan, was appointed as a federal judge. And for a time, another of his personal lawyers, Alina Habba, served as the US Attorney in New Jersey before a federal court ultimately ruled she was serving unlawfully.

Back to Durbin, who turns to pardons and commutations that Donald Trump issued on his first day back in office for those who participated in the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill. He says some people freed have "gone on to commit serious crimes", and asks if it was "the right thing to do".

Blanche replies that Trump has "the full power to pardon" under the constitution, adding: "I don't question President Trump's authority or his decision to do so".

"You don't question his decision?" Durbin pushes back.

"He has the authority to pardon anybody for any federal crime," says Blanche. "That's a privilege any president is afforded, including President Biden and President Trump."

Our reporter at the hearing, Tom Bateman, has sent these pictures of Todd Blanche being sworn in before the committee began their questions.

Blanche is now taking questions from the committee's ranking member Dick Durbin, a Democrat, who also focuses on Epstein.

Durbin asks Blanche if he will meet with survivors of Epstein's abuse. He says many are in the room today.

This leads to a lengthy back and forth where Blanche says he is not allowed to meet with them directly but is willing to talk to their counsel.

Durbin says "you ought to be in the room" to hear what happened to these women, and Blanche again pushes back.

"I'm prohibited from meeting directly with them. I have met with lawyers for survivors," he says, adding that he will direct the victims to the right people in the Justice Department today if needed.

Next, Senator Grassley - the committee's Republican chairman - challenges Blanche on the Justice Department's release of the Epstein files.

Specifically, he draws attention to allegations including "problematic redactions"; "insufficient effort" on following investigative leads; and "refusal to meet with victims"; and to questions surrounding the transfer of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower-security prison.

In response, Blanche says releasing millions of files within a short time-frame was a "Herculean task".

"We reviewed over six million pages," he says, describing the process department attorneys followed to "apply appropriate redactions".

"There were mistakes that were made, and so approximately 1% of the redactions had to be fixed," he says. "We had dozens of lawyers on call."

Blanche says the department is committed to transparency, and that the Trump administration has done far more to address Epstein's offending than his predecessors.

For background: Last summer, Blanche met with Maxwell to discuss Epstein. Soon after she was moved to another prison. You can read more about that here.

Having heard earlier from Republican Senator Ashley Moody - who introduced Blanche but didn't ask a question - Republican committee chairman Chuck Grassley asks about a case between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the state of Louisiana to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

Donald Trump is "the most pro-life president in history", Blanche says, adding that the Justice Department is doing work "in that space" that "hasn't been done for 10 years".

He says the FDA is "taking a real look" at what is happening with abortion pills and whether they are safe or not, but says he won't comment on litigation strategy.

For context, the state of Louisiana sued the FDA last October in an effort to prevent delivery of mifepristone. In May, the Supreme Court ruled that mifepristone can continue to be accessed by mail for now.

Image source, Reuters

Blanche has given his opening statement to the committee.

He describes his background, including working service industry jobs to pay for school and spending nine years as a federal prosecutor.

Blanche says that under his tenure, the Justice Department has stepped up its prosecution of cartels and pushed to prosecute healthcare fraud.

“We are enforcing our borders” and “protecting taxpayers", Blanche says.

“We are keeping America safe, and we are just getting started.”

Blanche's close ties with Trump make him clear choice for attorney generalpublished at 14:49 BST 15 July

14:49 BST 15 July

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter

For the last several years, Todd Blanche has been something of a fixture in Donald Trump's life - a fact that’s likely to be brought up repeatedly in today’s hearing.

Their working relationship dates back to at least 2023, when Blanche left his partnership at a prominent law firm to join Trump’s defence team ahead of his arraignment in the Manhattan "hush money" case.

Ultimately, Blanche took part in three of the four criminal cases Trump faced before returning to office.

With Trump back in office, Blanche became the second-highest-ranking figure in the Justice Department, largely tasked with overseeing the vast entity’s day-to-day operations under then Attorney General Pam Bondi.

This relationship made Blanche a clear choice for Trump when Bondi lost her position, despite ferocious criticism from those who accused him of politicising the department and blurring the independence of the judiciary.

Those close ties were also on full display yesterday, when Trump posted that Blanche "stood by my side" to fight the "lawfare" from his political opponents.

Some of those perceived opponents of Trump on the Senate committee will now also be calling into question his work as Trump’s personal attorney and in the Justice Department.

Image source, Getty Images

A bouquet of white roses has been placed where the late Senator Lindsey Graham would usually have been sitting.

Graham, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, died on Saturday evening. He was 71.

In a tribute to Graham, ranking member Senator Dick Durbin recalls "the memories of both our fierce partisan battles and our landmark bipartisan agreements".

"He was a trusted friend," Durbin says, describing Graham as "an extremely valuable part of this committee".

"I'm glad that we're honouring him with this memorial today."

Graham died of an "aortic dissection" caused by cardiovascular disease, according to a preliminary finding by the Washington DC medical examiner.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the committee's Democrat ranking member, pays tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham who died this weekend, his absence marked by an empty chair with flowers in front of it.

"The committee is mourning the loss of our friend," the 81-year-old senator says.

Durbin then pivots to criticisms of Blanche. He quotes past controversial remarks Blanche has made, including that the Justice Department was "at war" with the federal judiciary.

Durbin also mentions what he calls a "slush fund that benefits Jan-6 cop beaters", referring to a settlement agreement between the Justice Department and Trump.

"You've refused to rescind the order creating this fund," Durbin said. "That order can still be found today." This topic is expected to come up multiple times today.

Durbin also mentions the Epstein files, which former Attorney General Pam Bondi had said Blanche was "in charge of". Durbin requests that six letters from Epstein survivors be added to the record opposing Blanche's nomination.

Protesters file into hearing roompublished at 14:23 BST 15 July

14:23 BST 15 July

Tom Bateman
Reporting from the hearing

Todd Blanche is sitting in front of the committee in a packed committee room.

As Chairman Chuck Grassley got under way, about a dozen women walked into the room wearing white and black t-shirts saying "Epstein survivors are still waiting".

Some of them went to sit in the last few available seats in front of me here in the press benches. This hearing is set to be a highly contentious moment, with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files and accusations of Trump weaponising the Department of Justice for retribution against his political opponents all coming under scrutiny: Democrats have already called for the committee to reject Blanche’s confirmation.

Grassley has kicked off by running through what he says are all the Department of Justice's successes under Trump, mentioning crime and immigration.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, opens the confirmation hearing with a political defence of Blanche.

"Just like clockwork, the Democrats and their media allies, and activist networks, have launched the expected crusade against your nomination," the 92-year-old senator says.

"To be clear, there are fair questions for Mr Blanche. I don't agree with how Mr Blanche or the Justice Department handled every matter," Grassley said. "But many of the criticisms aired in recent days missed the mark."

Blanche has faced heavy bipartisan criticism for the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files releases. He has also been involved in a controversial settlement between President Trump and the Internal Revenue Service that would have created a $1.8bn "weaponisation fund" and given the president immunity from future tax investigations. A judge voided the settlement this week.

Image source, Reuters

The confirmation hearing has started, and the chairman Chuck Grassley is giving his opening statement.

We'll bring you some of his comments shortly.

Image source, Getty Images

If you are just joining us, we’re bringing you updates today from the Senate confirmation hearing of Todd Blanche, Trump’s nominee for US attorney general.

He was chosen by President Donald Trump for this key government role - but as per US law, he must undergo questioning and scrutiny by senators before they vote for his confirmation.

It is part of the "advice and consent" role that the Senate plays under the US constitution, which gives the Senate the authority to review - and either approve or reject - the president’s picks.

At the hearings, the nominees are questioned by a group of senators from both sides of the political aisle about their experience and readiness for the role, as well as their views and how they would carry out their responsibilities.

Once these hearings are finished, the Senate committee will vote on whether to recommend the nominee to the full Senate.

If passed, the nomination moves to the full Senate for debate and a vote, where Senators can confirm or reject the nominee.

A simple majority of 51 votes is usually required, and Republicans currently hold the majority in the Senate. But it’s always possible that some senators vote no even on confirmations in their own party.

Image source, Getty Images

Blanche, 51, has been the acting attorney general of the US since April. He took over the post on a temporary basis after President Donald Trump removed former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Blanche was born in Colorado and earned his bachelor's degree from American University in Washington DC. He went on to obtain a law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 2003.

Much of his legal career was spent as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York before briefly going into private practice as a defence attorney. In 2023 and 2024, Blanche represented President Trump in three of the criminal cases brought against him.

As deputy attorney general, Blanche was involved alongside former Attorney General Bondi in the DOJ's release of documents related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In July 2025, he interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein serving a 20-year prison sentence. He also served as the acting Librarian of Congress.

For three months now, the US has had a vacancy in the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In April, Trump removed Pam Bondi from the post of attorney general, the top prosecutor in the country and a major figure in the president’s administration.

Shortly thereafter, Trump announced that her number two, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, would be stepping up to take her place on a temporary basis. He’s been the acting attorney general since then.

Trump nominated Blanche as his new, permanent attorney general. But like with many high-level positions in the administration, he can’t be confirmed without a public hearing in the Senate.

Soon, Blanche will sit before the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will spend the next couple of hours grilling him on his record.

These hearings can sometimes get contentious - with Bondi, they often devolved into screaming matches.

If he’s confirmed, he’ll be the nation’s top prosecutor and the head of the Department of Justice.