Todd Blanche

Rule Changes

Said Justice Department will work with Democratic Congress on oversight

Democrats won the House and Senate in the 2026 midterms and will take control on Jan. 3. They hold 255 House seats, their widest majority in decades, and could reach 56 Senate seats as Alaska and Mississippi finish counting, the Associated Press reported Nov. 11. Hakeem Jeffries is set to become the first Black speaker; Chuck Schumer will run the Senate floor.

Updated Yesterday

Force in Play

Announced the Jackson award on November 9, 2026

The Justice Department picked four jurisdictions from 47 applicants to split nearly $300 million for local policing. On November 9 it named the dollar figures: more than $68 million for St. Louis and more than $63 million for Jackson, Mississippi. The White House promoted the awards the next day.

Updated Yesterday

Rule Changes

Named defendant, with Dhillon and the Justice Department, in the NAACP's October 16 suit over election monitoring

Harmeet Dhillon, who took over the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in April 2025, resigned as its chief on November 5, 2026, Al Jazeera reported. She left an office focused on election-fraud claims, campus discrimination cases and suits against universities.

Updated 5 days ago

Force in Play

Acting attorney general overseeing the third Comey case, in which DOJ is still seeking a grand jury indictment

The Justice Department brought a third criminal case against James Comey on October 26, 2026, accusing him of leaking a classified document to a reporter in 2016. Prosecutors filed it as a criminal information, a charging document signed without a grand jury vote, while they work toward an indictment in Washington.

Updated Nov 2

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Said the administration will keep pursuing election changes past the 2026 midterms

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to restrict mail-in voting for the November midterms. The decision leaves lower court injunctions in place, letting states send out ballots under the same rules they've used for years.

Updated Sep 17

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: In office; certified the ATRC application

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court went 30 years without a case. On Sept. 11 the Justice Department announced its first: Nazira Haji Zada, a lawful permanent resident in Fort Worth, Texas, was deported to Afghanistan after conceding she was an "alien terrorist."

Updated Sep 13

Force in Play

As of August 2026: Announced the takedown on August 26, 2026

The US Justice Department and FBI seized three internet domains on August 26, disabling two hacking platforms that Chinese state-sponsored operators used against NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department, and the US Senate. The takedown shut down QScan and QTRouter, tools the group known as QTFY had run since at least 2018.

Updated Aug 27

Money Moves

As of June 2026: Sent mixed signals on the settlement fund

ICE and Border Patrol budgets normally have to be renegotiated every year, which gives both parties leverage during shutdown fights. Early Friday, the Senate voted 52-47 to fund them for three years straight, through the end of President Trump's term.

Updated Jun 5

Rule Changes

As of June 2026: Reversed defiant stance; DOJ now complying with court order; fund dropped

The Trump administration dropped its $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund on June 1, less than two weeks after creating it. Three forces killed it: a court freeze in Alexandria, a Senate Republican revolt that stalled the reconciliation bill, and a meeting between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump. No claims were ever paid.

Updated Jun 2

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Serving as acting attorney general as of April 2, 2026; simultaneously holding acting Librarian of Congress position; facing legal challenges to dual roles

President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 2, 2026, replacing her with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who defended Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial before joining the DOJ. He's the fourth Justice Department leader under Trump, after Sessions, Barr, and Bondi. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans signaled they'd consider EPA administrator Lee Zeldin as permanent replacement. Legal scholars questioned whether Blanche could simultaneously serve as both acting attorney general and acting Librarian of Congress.

Updated May 30

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Overseeing federal response to state lawsuits and Good shooting investigation

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez denied Minnesota's request for a temporary restraining order against Operation Metro Surge on February 2, 2026. She cited insufficient proof of constitutional violations, though she acknowledged evidence of racial profiling and excessive force.

Updated May 20

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Overseeing decision not to investigate ICE and Border Patrol shootings

Three Minnesota congresswomen entered a Minneapolis ICE detention center on January 10 but were ordered out minutes later. They'd come three days after an ICE agent shot 37-year-old U.S. citizen Renee Good in the head during what the Trump administration called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem secretly signed a seven-day notice rule the day after Good's killing—a rule a federal judge had already blocked—and Judge Jia Cobb refused to block it on January 20.

Updated May 20

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Announced final Epstein files release on January 30, declaring DOJ compliance complete

Jeffrey Epstein is dead, but his paper trail has led to immediate legal battles. On January 30, 2026, the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images.

Updated May 14