AdvertisementAnalysis WorldNorth AmericaUS politics In confirming Blanche as US A-G, senators endorse a Justice Department under Trump’s sway Glenn Thrush August 9, 2026 — 10:39am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Bloomberg Blanche’s confirmation in the predawn hours of Saturday (Washington time) was largely symbolic: as acting attorney general, he could have served indefinitely. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson During Blanche’s confirmation hearing, Democratic senator Chris Coons asked whether the department he was running is “independent from the White House?” Bill Cassidy announced on Friday that he would deliver the decisive vote for Blanche’s confirmation. During his speech, he quoted extensively from conversations with William Barr, Trump’s attorney-general in his first term who articulated an expansive view of presidential power in a 2018 memo.