Todd Blanche

Todd Blanche
Official portrait, 2025
40th United States Deputy Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 6, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byLisa Monaco
Acting Librarian of Congress
Disputed
Assumed office
May 12, 2025
Disputed with Robert Newlen
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byRobert Newlen (acting, disputed)
Personal details
Born
Todd Wallace Blanche

(1974-08-06) August 6, 1974
Political partyDemocratic (before 2023)
Republican (2024–present)
Children2
EducationBeloit College
American University (BA)
Brooklyn Law School (JD)
*Since Hayden's dismissal by Trump, the role of acting librarian has been disputed between the principal deputy, Robert Newlen, and Trump's named appointee, Blanche.[1]

Todd Wallace Blanche[2] (/blæntʃ/ BLANCH) (born August 6, 1974) is an American lawyer and former prosecutor who has served as the fortieth United States deputy attorney general since 2025. Blanche represented U.S. president Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial in New York City. Blanche worked at New York City's oldest law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he served as a partner represented clients such as Rudy Giuliani associate Igor Fruman and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

In November 2024, president-elect Trump announced his intention to nominate Blanche as deputy attorney general. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 5, 2025, by a vote of 52–46. On May 12, 2025, Trump attempted to appoint Blanche to be acting librarian of Congress, a position in the legislative branch.[3]

Early life and education

Blanche was born in 1974 and grew up near Denver, Colorado.[4][5] He went to a military boarding school in New Mexico and attended Beloit College.[4] He then transferred to the American University School of Public Affairs,[4] where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and interdisciplinary studies.[6] In 1999, Blanche worked as a paralegal for the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and attended night classes at Brooklyn Law School, where he received his JD.[7]

Career

U.S. Attorney

After law school, Blanche was a prosecutor in New York's Southern District and co-chief of its violent crimes unit and the White Plains division.[6] He worked on cases related to bank and wire fraud, public corruption, and racketeering.[6]

Private law

Blanche was later employed by the law firm WilmerHale,[6] where he represented clients including Igor Fruman and Paul Manafort during the latter's 2016 fraud trial.[6][8][9]

From September 2017 to April 2023, Blanche was a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.[10]

Blanche left the Cadwalader firm in 2023[6] and founded Blanche Law to represent former U.S. president Donald Trump[8][6] during his 2024 criminal trial in New York City.[6] Following Trump's May 30, 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Blanche stated that Trump's defense team planned to appeal the verdict.[11]

In the Trump White House

United States deputy attorney general

Blanche is sworn in as United States deputy attorney general, March 2025

On November 14, 2024, President-elect Trump announced that he intended to nominate Blanche for United States deputy attorney general.[12] He was confirmed to the post by the U.S. Senate on March 5, 2025 in a 52–46 vote.[13]

Blanche was sworn in as the fortieth United States deputy attorney general on March 6, 2025.[14]

Interrogation of Ghislaine Maxwell

In July 2025 Blanche held a second in-person meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is a convicted sex trafficker and associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.[15] In an analysis on the CNN website, Aaron Blake stated that President Trump has "demonstrated past personal ties to Epstein," and that "critics have cried foul that the DOJ official interviewing Maxwell was Blanche, rather than a non-political prosecutor who has been involved in the case who would have much more expertise. Not only is Blanche a top political appointee of Trump's; he's also his formal personal lawyer. 'The conflict of interest is glaring,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Thursday on X. 'It stinks of high corruption.' "[16]

Acting Librarian of Congress

On May 12, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that Todd Blanche would be the new acting librarian of Congress.[17][18]

The appointment followed Trump’s abrupt firing of Carla Hayden, the first African American and first woman to serve as Librarian of Congress, nearly two years before the end of her ten-year term.[19] The White House cited her focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as justification for her removal. Critics noted that the rationale included misleading claims, such as accusations that Hayden was “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”[20]

Hayden’s former deputy, Robert Newlen, assumed the role of acting librarian by default after her termination, and he publicly contested the legitimacy of Blanche’s appointment. In an internal email to staff, Newlen stated, “Congress is engaged with the White House and we have not received direction from Congress about how to move forward.”[21]

That same day, Department of Justice officials reportedly attempted to assume control of the library’s operations and were rebuffed by library staff. Capitol Police were contacted but ultimately dismissed after the situation de-escalated without incident.[18]

Congressional reaction was swift. Senate majority leader John Thune said “congressional equities must be respected” in determining library leadership, emphasizing the library’s status as a legislative branch institution. Meanwhile, Democrats called for legislation to strip the president of appointment power over the librarian of Congress. Rep. Joe Morelle, the ranking member of the committee overseeing the library, requested an inspector general investigation into whether any executive branch personnel attempted unauthorized access to legislative files.[21]

Personal life

Blanche is married. His wife, Kristine, is an integrative medicine physician assistant who holds a PhD from University of Science, Arts and Technology and who served as chief of staff for his law firm.[7][22][23] The couple has two children.[5] Blanche has completed two Ironman triathlons.[7]

In 2023, Blanche was a registered Democrat in New York. In 2024, Blanche purchased a home in Palm Beach County, Florida and registered as a Republican.[7]

References

  1. ^ Gerstein, Josh; Tully-McManus, Katherine (May 12, 2025). "The Leadership of the Library of Congress Is in Apparent Dispute". Politico. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  2. ^ "United States v. O'Sullivan District Court, E.D. New York". May 6, 2025.
  3. ^ "Deputy attorney general who defended Trump in hush money trial named acting Librarian of Congress". AP News. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Rice, Andrew (April 22, 2024). "Trump Trial: Inside Todd Blanche's Defense Strategy". Intelligencer.
  5. ^ a b Miller, Jon (September 12, 2024). "The inside story of Donald Trump's disastrous criminal trial". FT Magazine.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Gleeson, Cailey (April 24, 2024). "Who Is Todd Blanche? Trump's N.Y. Criminal Trial Lawyer Left High-Profile Firm Before Joining Legal Team". Forbes. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Haberman, Maggie; Protess, Ben; Feuer, Alan (April 4, 2024). "Trump's Trial Lawyer Gambled a Gilded Manhattan Career to Represent Him". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Orden, Erica (April 3, 2023). "Trump taps white-collar attorney to helm indictment defense". Politico. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  9. ^ Gamio, Lazaro; Yourish, Karen; Haag, Matthew; Bromwich, Jonah E.; Haberman, Maggie; Lai, K. K. Rebecca (May 30, 2024). "The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By Count". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Goudsward, Andrew (June 15, 2023). "Ex-clients sue Trump lawyer Blanche over work in SEC probe". Reuters. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  11. ^ Falconer, Rebecca (May 31, 2024). "Trump lawyer outlines plan to challenge historic guilty verdict". Axios. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  12. ^ Jansen, Bart. "Donald Trump picks his criminal lawyer, Todd Blanche, as deputy attorney general". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Richer, Alanna Durkin (March 5, 2025). "Senate confirms former Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche as deputy attorney general". AP.
  14. ^ @MargoMartin47 (March 6, 2025). "Todd Blanche has officially been sworn in as Deputy Attorney General" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Campbell, Lucy (July 25, 2025). "Ghislaine Maxwell interviewed again by deputy US attorney general". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Blake, Aaron (July 25, 2025). "Analysis: Trump just made a problematic Ghislaine Maxwell situation look even worse | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  17. ^ Ulaby, Neda (May 12, 2025). "The President has named a new Acting Librarian of Congress. It's his former defense lawyer". NPR. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Stein, Perry; Kornfield, Meryl; Viser, Matt; Birnbaum, Michael; Cheeseman, Abbie; Kessler, Glenn; Stein, Jeff; Allison, Natalie; Lynch, David J. (May 12, 2025). "Trump taps top Justice Dept. official to also head Library of Congress". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  19. ^ Italie, Hillel, Firing, hiring and a mystery: The 225-year-old Library of Congress has never had a moment like this, The Associated Press, May 15, 2025
  20. ^ Green, Erica L. (May 9, 2025). "Trump Fired Librarian of Congress Over D.E.I." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Hill leaders question Trump's attempted Library of Congress takeover". POLITICO. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  22. ^ https://www.kristineblanche.com/
  23. ^ https://blanchelaw.com/todd-blanche-2/
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