US Senate confirms Trump's ex lawyer as attorney general

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche was confirmed as US attorney general on Saturday (Aug 8) after Senate Republicans shrugged off Democratic concerns over the politicisation of the Justice Department.Blanche, who has already been serving as the top US law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, represented Trump as his private attorney in several criminal trials before entering government. The Senate, which Republicans narrowly control, confirmed him by 50 votes to 49.Trump, who has upended US political norms by seeking to bring nominally independent government agencies under his increasingly direct control, calls Blanche a "star".Democrats opposed Blanche from the beginning, accusing Trump of turning the Department of Justice into a political weapo