Trump floats permanent promotion for his controversial acting attorney general

President Donald Trump is suggesting he wants to make his acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, permanent.

Trump has repeatedly pressed for a Justice Department loyal to him rather than independent. Critics have charged he has wanted the attorney general to act as his personal attorney. Now, in Todd Blanche, he may have the attorney general he always wanted.

Two months ago Blanche, who once served as Trump’s personal attorney, became the acting United States attorney general, after Trump terminated Pam Bondi.

On Wednesday, Trump was asked if Blanche would become the permanent attorney general.

“I think he will,” Trump told Pod Force One, according to The Guardian.

“Todd’s doing a very good job at DOJ,” Trump also said, according to video of the interview.

Asked if he had anyone else in mind for the role, Trump replied, “No, no.”

“I wanted to see how he’s received, you know, we put him as acting, and he’s done a very good job, but I’ve known him a long time,” Trump said.

When pressed if Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis might be among candidates for attorney general, Trump said no.

“No, Ron’s very good,” the president remarked.

“There are some good names, though. I had never thought, Ron never talked about it. He’s a governor, doing a good job. But Ron’s good. He is a friend of mine. Just named an airport after me, you know?”

“They named Palm Beach International Airport, The President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” he said, calling it “a great honor.”

Asked if he was “happy with the pace of what the Department of Justice is doing?” Trump replied, “Well, much more so now than at the beginning,” suggesting he was dissatisfied with Bondi.

Critics had charged that Bondi would become too loyal to the president.

During her confirmation hearing, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), said that Trump “has made it clear that he values one thing above all else in an Attorney General: loyalty.”

In April, The Guardian reported that “Blanche has aggressively moved to deploy the department’s resources to please Donald Trump, leaving little doubt about how the president’s former personal attorney would further politicize the department if his status atop US law enforcement becomes permanent.”

Blanche recently came under fire for signing an order stating that Trump and his family could never be investigated by the IRS.

“The memo prohibits the IRS from pursuing claims against Trump, his family or his businesses, saying the agency ‘releases, waives, acquits’ its pending action and is ‘forever barred and precluded’ from pursuing claims against the president,” The Hill reported. “The New York Times and ProPublica previously found a years-long audit of his tax bill could cost Trump as much as $100 million.”

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