Trump's former personal lawyer is confirmed to run the Justice Department
The Senate confirms Todd Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, as Attorney General by a 50-49 vote, with Bill Cassidy casting the deciding vote and Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting no.
What happened
The confirmation came Saturday morning on a narrow 50-49 Senate vote. Some Republican senators had questioned Blanche's mismanagement of the release of the Epstein files and his role in creating the president's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. The Senate's roll call records the vote at 4:17 a.m.
Why it matters
The department that decides whom the federal government prosecutes is now headed by the president's own former defense counsel — the office and the president's personal lawyer fused in one appointment.