Trump’s new Attorney General is desperate to win his approval

But if the interim AG wants to make his position permanent, he will have to show Trump undying loyalty as well as succeed in taking down his enemies, Andrew Moran, professor of politics and international relations at the London Metropolitan University, told The i Paper .

“Appointing people to interim positions creates an environment where people feel like they have to fight for their jobs,” he said. “This means they are less likely to push back on Trump’s demands as they have to show the utmost loyalty to him.”

‘Doomsday scenario’ for Democrats

With big losses for the Republican Party expected in November’s midterm elections, John Mark Hansen, a US politics expert from the University of Chicago, told The i Paper: “I think it’s pretty likely that Blanche will embark on a flurry of legal actions against Trump’s enemies. I think the administration is probably going to be looking for any way they can to try to harass Democratic candidates and those who might support Democrats.

“My doomsday scenario is that in the run up to the midterms, any Democratic nominee who has a chance of winning in a seat currently held by Republicans will find themselves under investigation.”

Targets of the President’s legal campaign include ex-CIA director John O Brennan, former national security adviser John Bolton and New York’s Attorney General Letitia James. They all share one thing in common – they have crossed Trump in the past.

Comey is perhaps the most high-profile. The former FBI director’s indictment came after he was accused of making a threat on the President’s life almost a year ago when he posted an image of seashells which spelled out “86 47” on Instagram.

Trump and others in his administration have interpreted this as meaning “kill President Trump”.

The President posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday: “‘86’ is a mob term for ‘kill him’… EIGHT MILES OUT, SIX FEET DOWN!” (47 refers to Trump as he is the 47^th president).

Prosecutors in the case argued it was “a serious expression of an intent to do harm to President Trump”.

However, the slang term “86” is often used to mean dismiss or remove, or refuse service to. Comey deleted it saying that he was not aware it could be associated with violence and that he opposed violence of any kind.

The case has brought further scrutiny from critics who believe that the DoJ is simply becoming an extension of Trump’s power rather than an independent branch of government.

Speaking to The New York Times, Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general during the Biden administration, said: “The Comey indictment is a disgrace. The department has become Mr Trump’s personal law firm, and Todd Blanche is all too eager to please his boss in a quest to lead it. None of this is normal,.”

Blanche asserted that he had “absolutely, positively not” received orders from Trump and that the decision to prosecute followed a thorough, year-long investigation.

Hansen said: “In bringing an indictment against Comey that’s as flimsy as the one Bondi tried, he’s basically trying to satisfy the President,” but that added that “in the short-term, this might be enough for him [Blanche] to keep his job.”

Blanche and the Stormy Daniels case

Blanche has frequently been in Trump’s orbit over the past few years, with the President first hiring Blanche in April 2023 to defend him in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.

Moran said that after this, and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, Blanche “pretty much became Trump’s personal lawyer.”

Following Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, he was appointed as deputy attorney general. However, he was not always so eager to carry out the President’s wishes, having previously cautioned the Trump against actions he considered unwise, unlawful or unsupported by evidence, according to current and former officials.

He defended local federal prosecutors who questioned the previous attempt to indict Comey last September; advised against the appointment of an inexperienced White House lawyer to force through the Comey case; and urged against arresting and escorting the ex-FBI director in handcuffs last May after the online post.

Blanche is now in the job that he has always wanted, but Moran pointed out that Bondi’s sacking would put “a great deal of pressure on Blanche to produce the results that she could not.”

“I think one of his main jobs is going to be to make the message coming out of the DoJ tighter so he doesn’t repeat Bondi’s failures,” he added.

The acting Attorney General has so far demonstrated absolute loyalty to Trump in going after his enemies. But Moran said that despite Blanche’s renewed vigour, the cases were “just not going to hold up in court”.

The professor pointed out that Blanche had previously been a registered Democrat and that while it was impossible to know for sure, he suspected that, like many in Trump’s cabinet such as Marco Rubio or JD Vance, Blanche had put aside his political beliefs to further his career within the White House.

“I’m sure that once Blanche leaves office, the visibility will benefit his law firm,” Moran added.

Trump’s tactic to undermine the Senate

Blanche isn’t the only interim appointee in Trump’s cabinet, with Keith Sonderling filling in for Lori Chavez-DeRemer as acting Labour Secretary.

The President has previously commented on his fondness for interim appointments, saying that they allow him “more flexibility.”

Dr Andrew Wroe, a senior lecturer in US politics at the University of Kent, told The i Paper that he believes Trump favours interim appointments as they do not need to be ratified by the Senate, with the possibility of the Republican Party losing a number of seats in the upper chamber in the midterms,

Some of Trump’s temporary appointments “are a little eyebrow-raising”, added Wroe.

In the face of potential midterms losses, it could be one of many tactics Trump uses to try to maintain his power.