President Donald Trump has announced his plan to nominate Todd Blanche as the permanent Attorney General of the United States, pending Senate confirmation. Blanche has been serving in an acting capacity since April 2026, when he was appointed following Pam Bondi's dismissal from the role.
What is Todd Blanche's journey within the Justice Department? Blanche's ascent has been marked by a strategic approach. He was confirmed as Deputy Attorney General on March 5, 2025, with a closely contested vote of 52-46. Soon after, he implemented significant changes that reshaped the agency's approach to digital assets.
In April 2025, he issued a memo that caused considerable stir among legal and cryptocurrency sectors. This document firmly stated that the Department of Justice was not to act as a regulator for digital assets, effectively pivoting its focus toward traditional criminal activities such as fraud and terrorism financing.
The memo also led to the disbandment of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, a significant unit responsible for overseeing federal prosecutions related to cryptocurrencies. In its place, Blanche emphasized traditional crime categories, suggesting a redirection of resources away from cryptocurrency-specific cases.
His influential stance did not go unnoticed. In December 2025, CoinDesk included him in its list of the “Most Influential” individuals, highlighting the impact of his enforcement policy changes.
Upon his appointment as Deputy AG, financial disclosures revealed that Blanche held between $100,000 and $250,000 in Bitcoin. He committed to divesting his digital asset holdings and completed this process by June 2025 through gifts and sales.
The timing of his memo and his ownership of cryptocurrency may raise questions during his confirmation hearings, particularly regarding the potential for conflicts of interest.
Blanche took over as acting Attorney General in April 2026 after Trump dismissed Bondi, and his legal background includes representing the former president in a criminal case in New York.
Blanche's April memo clearly delineated the DOJ's intentions, indicating that the department would act against tangible fraud and terrorism financing while relegating broader regulatory matters to agencies like the SEC and CFTC. The dismantling of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team resulted in a decreased federal focus on cryptocurrency-related crimes, signaling a substantial shift in the agency's priorities.