Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski announced she would oppose President Donald Trump’s nominee for US attorney general, citing concerns over the “politicisation” of the Justice Department. Trump seeks to install Todd Blanche, his former personal defence attorney who is currently acting attorney general, to run the Justice Department on a permanent basis but he has faced opposition from a small number of Republicans. “The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski wrote. Blanche had previously pledged he would walk back the nearly $2bn fund after blowback from Republican senators during his confirmation hearings. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who lost his Louisiana primary this year after Trump backed his challenger, has yet to say whether he will support Blanche.