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Todd Wallace Blanche (; born August 6, 1974) is an American lawyer and former prosecutor who has served as the fortieth United States deputy attorney general since 2025. Before coming on board, Blanche defended U.S. president Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial for business fraud in New York City. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony charges. For a little while, Blanche worked at New York City's oldest law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he served as a partner representing 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. Some Senators did not accept the assertion of fairness. On May 12, 2025, Trump attempted to appoint Blanche to be acting librarian of Congress, a position in the legislative branch.
From September 2017 to April 2023, Blanche was a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Blanche left the Cadwalader firm in 2023 and founded Blanche Law to represent former U.S. president Donald Trump during his 2024 criminal trial in New York City. Following Trump's May 30, 2024 conviction on thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records, Blanche stated that Trump's defense team planned to appeal the verdict.
Blanche was sworn in as the fortieth United States deputy attorney general on March 6, 2025. To satisfy ethics concerns, Blanche pledged to divest from his substantial cryptocurrency holdings (between $159,000 and $485,000) within ninety days of his appointment and to not participate in any matters that would affect his cryptocurrency holdings until he had sold them. However, about a month into the position, he issued a sweeping memo pledging an end to the kinds of enforcements against cryptocurrency firms that the Biden administration engaged in.
On May 9, 2025, as revealed in bodycam footage taken and released in spite of an HSI officer's explicit order to turn off bodycams, Blanche ordered the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
The appointment followed Trump's firing of Carla Hayden, nearly two years before the end of her ten-year term. 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."
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."
That same day, Department of Justice officials reportedly attempted to assume martial control of the library's operations and were rebuffed by library staff. United States Capitol Police were contacted but ultimately dismissed after the situation de-escalated without incident.
In response, Senate majority leader John Thune said that "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.
/ref> The couple has two children. Blanche has completed two Ironman triathlons.
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.
[[Category:United State
s deputy attorneys general]]
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