Senate Judiciary Advances Blanche AG Nomination 12-10 as Catalog Documents 200+ Instances of DOJ 'Presumption of Regularity' Collapse

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines on August 4, 2026 to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination as Attorney General, clearing the path for a floor vote. Blanche — Trump’s former personal criminal-defense attorney, acting AG since Trump fired Pamela Bondi on April 2 — rescinded an internal anti-weaponization fund to secure the final Republican committee votes. Two days later, a Reason analysis synthesized a Just Security catalog documenting more than 200 court instances, including rulings by Trump-appointed judges, in which federal courts found the DOJ’s traditional presumption of good-faith regularity “dislodged,” “destroyed,” or “undeniably eroded.”

Blanche’s confirmation hearing (2026-07-15–todd-blanche-attorney-general-confirmation-hearing) came after months of GOP resistance over his role in the Bondi firing and January 6 aftermath handling (2026-06-04–blanche-ag-confirmation-gop-resistance-grassley-senate-judiciary-summer-target). The 200+ case catalog landing the same week as committee advancement is not coincidental context — it is the accumulated judicial record the nominee will formally lead once confirmed, converting what had been an “acting” capacity operating under that eroded presumption into a permanent one.