Donald Trump said he will nominate his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche as Attorney General after his stint as acting DOJ chief. Blanche has faced backlash for aggressive actions targeting Trump’s opponents, including controversial probes & a proposed “Anti-Weaponisation Fund” that was later scrapped. His moves have drawn criticism from Democrats & some Republicans ahead of Senate confirmation.

Washington: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, tapping his former personal lawyer who has aggressively pursued the Republican president's agenda while leading the Justice Department in an acting role.

Trump said at a dinner at the White House that he plans to nominate Blanche formally on Thursday, according to a video of the event posted on social media by a White House aide.

“We are going to make him permanent attorney general,” Trump said at the Rose Garden event.

Blanche sought quickly to position himself as the favourite for the permanent job after Pam Bondi's firing in April, accelerating investigations into Trump foes and announcing a nearly USD 1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the president's allies for alleged political persecution. The proposed fund created a bipartisan firestorm that forced the Justice Department to scrap the idea earlier this week in an extraordinary about-face.