WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department's direction under the Republican president.
Another former Trump attorney — Emil Bove, now a federal appeals court judge — administered the oath of office to Blanche at the White House following early Saturday's Senate confirmation vote by the narrowest of margins. Shortly after, the newly sworn-in attorney general arrived at Justice Department headquarters to cheers from employees lined up along the entrance.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York, is officially taking command of a Justice Department he has been leading in an acting capacity since Pam Bondi's firing in April.
With the confirmation battle behind him, Blanche now faces the challenge of having to navigate the demands of a president who has made no secret his desire to use the law enforcement agency to target his political foes. Blanche will do so with an agency that has been hollowed out by resignations, firings and voluntary departures while also confronting mounting pushback from the courts.
Blanche was confirmed in a 50-49 vote, opposed by two Republicans who cited concerns about what they described as increased politicization of the department under Trump.
Under deputy attorney general and later as acting attorney general, Blanche has overseen the investigations of numerous Trump foes, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the Justice Department indicted in April for a second time since Trump returned to the White House last year.
Blanche has strongly defended the Trump administration against accusations that it has weaponized the Justice Department. Blanche has said he feels no pressure to placate Trump and insists he sees no problem with the president's interest in Justice Department matters, calling it the president's “right” and “his duty.”
Blanche entered the president's orbit when he left his law firm in 2023 to represent Trump against multiple criminal cases, including two brought by the Justice Department under Democratic President Joe Biden. Blanche has said that experience afforded him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.
Blanche's defenders say the close relationship he developed with Trump as his defense lawyer can make him more successful than Bondi was at pushing back on the president's demands.
Blanche's nomination was almost scuttled over bipartisan concerns about Trump's controversial settlement of his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. His nomination only moved forward after he confirmed in writing, under pressure from Republicans, that the administration was rescinding plans to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were wronged by the department.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, right, is joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Ambassador Michael C. Gonzales, left, during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held belief that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.
The order recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots administered in separate visits, and directs the nation's health department to improve vaccine research, says a White House fact sheet, first reported by The Daily Caller. Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children are not currently available in the United States.
Speaking about the order at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump also said that one-year-olds should have their shots separated out into five separate visits, though it wasn't clear whether he was talking about all the vaccines they receive or specific ones.
Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit. Childhood vaccines — and how and when to give them in combination — go through rigorous studies, and safety tracking continues for years as the shots are used.
Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order will advise states with school vaccine mandates to consider updating their laws to reflect the administration's recommendations, the fact sheet said.
Last December, Trump ordered HHS to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly. The department responded by cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, a move that has since been blocked in court.
In the months leading up to Monday's announcement, Trump’s administration had largely pivoted away from talking about vaccine policy in favor of less polarizing topics like healthy eating and efforts to lower drug prices ahead of November’s elections. Polls show most Americans still support school vaccine requirements, though Republicans are less likely than Democrats to see them as important.
Still, Trump has been fixated on connecting autism to vaccines. He has recently ramped up pressure on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to identify the cause of autism, something Kennedy had pledged to do with new research unveiled last year. Trump publicly prodded the health secretary for an update on autism research in a Cabinet meeting last month.
“How are you doing on the autism research?” Trump asked.
“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy said.
Scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism. On Monday, Kennedy repeated his assertion that he believes an unknown environmental factor is to blame for rising autism diagnoses and said that his department will deliver research findings “as soon as they are ready.”
Monday's order comes as school years are starting around the country and the nation contends with a measles outbreak that experts say could result in the U.S. losing its measles elimination status.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a meeting to sign an executive order about vaccines, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting to sign an executive order about vaccines, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a meeting to sign an executive order about vaccines, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump holds up an image taken from his Truth Social account as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. watches during a meeting to sign an executive order about vaccines, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
