Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy noticeTodd Blanche, who previously served as personal legal counsel to President Donald Trump, was sworn in on Monday as attorney general following a contentious Senate confirmation fight that highlighted bipartisan concerns over the direction of the Justice Department under the Republican president. Shortly afterward, the newly sworn-in attorney general arrived at Justice Department headquarters to cheers from employees gathered along the entrance. As deputy attorney general and later acting attorney general, Blanche directed investigations into numerous Trump opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the Justice Department indicted in April for a second time since Trump returned to the White House last year. Blanche has firmly defended the Trump administration against accusations of weaponizing the Justice Department.