In his first speech as attorney general to Justice Department staff, Todd Blanche sounded less like a political brawler and more like a career boss promising business as usual. He pledged to lead with integrity, apply the law "without fear or favor," respect the courts, and welcome internal disagreement in a 19-minute address on Thursday, Politico reports. To DOJ employees, he cast himself as one of them—an institutionalist focused on public safety and civil rights rather than partisan fights. "Everything that I do will not be the right path or the right decision," Blanche said before promising to work hard and listen to staff members, per the AP.
The tone marked a sharp contrast with Blanche's past rhetoric and with how critics say the department has actually operated under President Trump. Since January 2025, thousands of DOJ lawyers have departed in the face of concerns about rising politicization of the department, and hundreds more have been fired, according to Justice Connection, a group of former employees. Stacey Young of the organization accused Blanche of abandoning the very principles he outlined, saying his words will matter only if his actions change. It also clashed with his November remarks to the Federalist Society—where he described clashes with "rogue activist judges" as "a war"—and with ongoing DOJ statements targeting "activist" courts and the Biden-era department, per Politico.
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