{"id":9059,"date":"2026-08-13T23:35:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059"},"modified":"2026-08-13T23:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:35:44","slug":"in-turnabout-blanche-lauds-doj-career-staff-in-first-speech-as-attorney-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059","title":{"rendered":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general"},"content":{"rendered":"

His remarks come after months of firings and disparagement of the Justice Department workforce by President Trump.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Graham Platner to speak at Maine rally in return to public eye<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
In his first public speech since being confirmed, Attorney General Todd Blanche suggested before Justice Department staff Thursday that welcomes differences of opinion, saying \u201cI think disagreement is extraordinarily healthy.\u201d (Rod Lamkey\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Attorney General Todd Blanche struck an effusive, complimentary tone as he addressed Justice Department staff Thursday in his first public speech since being confirmed, a sharp contrast from the way he and other administration officials have described the department for the past year and a half.<\/p>\n

Blanche \u2014 a career prosecutor turned President Donald Trump\u2019s personal defense attorney turned top Justice Department official \u2014 warmly thanked career staffers for their hard work and vowed to lead the department with integrity.<\/p>\n

The conciliatory and measured tone, delivered from the Great Hall at Justice Department headquarters, came after months of accusations by Trump, Blanche and administration allies that the department is riddled with politically motivated lawyers who have recklessly weaponized their prosecutorial power.<\/p>\n

None of that was on evidence Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou make me look good,\u201d Blanche told the staffers. \u201cWhen I talk to the president, when I talk to Congress \u2026 when I talk to the American people \u2026 when I talk about all the ways we\u2019re having success, when I talk about the ways we\u2019re making America safe, when I talk about the wins, when I talk about the success, I know it\u2019s not me doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s tenure \u2014 first as the deputy attorney general and then as acting attorney general \u2014 has been marked by a wholesale dismissal of the most experienced senior career staffers<\/a> and the fleeing of thousands of government lawyers and support personnel.<\/p>\n

Many of those who left have publicly accused the administration of ruining the department by imposing its political agenda, and the department has struggled to recruit high-quality<\/a> attorneys to replace them.<\/p>\n

Justice Department leaders, including Blanche, have often disregarded DOJ\u2019s traditional distance from the White House on criminal matters. Under Blanche and then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department has brought controversial cases against Trump\u2019s political foes, including former FBI director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.<\/p>\n

In multiple instances, career prosecutors have quit or been pushed out if they spoke out against or resisted a decision to press ahead with a politically charged case. A handful of prosecutors, for example, were pushed out of the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia<\/a> amid the push to prosecute Comey.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, the attorney general suggested he welcomed differences of opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think disagreement is extraordinarily healthy,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cI think disagreement is the only way that we make the best decisions as a department. I think we should continue to do that, because I think the fair administration of justice and our jobs depend on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche delivered the speech days after he survived a bruising confirmation process<\/a>, including rare Republican pushback against a Trump nominee.<\/p>\n

Some GOP senators said they were concerned that Blanche would use his perch as attorney general to serve the president\u2019s interests rather than those of the public. Blanche has repeatedly praised Trump and has said that the president has a right to weigh in on criminal prosecutions.<\/p>\n

In his speech Thursday, Blanche scarcely mentioned Trump, except to thank him for entrusting him with the powerful position.<\/p>

Read more White House says more than 40 nations help China dodge tariffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, Blanche described the lifelong reverence he has felt for the Justice Department, starting with his career as a young paralegal in the Southern District of New York, before becoming a federal prosecutor there himself.<\/p>\n

Blanche praised the career prosecutors working on cases across the country as the department\u2019s backbone, promising to always try to do the right thing and defend the Constitution.<\/p>\n

Blanche did not mention any of the Justice Department\u2019s politically explosive cases, instead citing its work to combat violent crime and fraud.<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise you I will focus on our core mission, which is to uphold the rule of law fairly and impartially to keep this country safe and protect the rights of every citizen in this country,\u201d Blanche said.<\/p>\n

Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department has faced extraordinary pushback from judges across the country, several of whom have said that the typical deference that judges give U.S. government attorneys is no longer deserved.<\/p>\n

The judges have criticized prosecutors for misstating facts, missing deadlines and, in some instances, presenting cases backed by flimsy evidence. In rare situations, the Justice Department has been accused of not following court orders.<\/p>\n

In response, Trump and some of his allies have used incendiary language to dismiss judges whose rulings they opposed, suggesting they were incompetent and biased and, in some cases, that they should be impeached.<\/p>\n

At a conservative legal event last year, Blanche, then the deputy attorney general, described the Justice Department as being \u201cat war\u201d with \u201crogue activist judges\u201d who have restrained key planks of Trump\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, he took a more diplomatic approach, saying that his Justice Department would not unduly attack judges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always respect the role of the judiciary,\u201d Blanche said. Still, he added, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be intimidated out of enforcing the law or doing our jobs or executing the goals and priorities we have in this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s speech was markedly different from one Trump delivered from the same podium at Justice Department headquarters<\/a> soon after his inauguration last year.<\/p>\n

In that speech, the president castigated the Justice Department\u2019s career workforce that had served under the Biden administration, and many previous administrations, as \u201ca corrupt group of hacks and radicals\u201d who had unfairly prosecuted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are people that are bad people, really bad people,\u201d Trump said at the time. \u201cThey tried to turn America into a corrupt communist and Third World country.\u201d<\/p>

Read more How a baby born via surrogate became the center of an abortion fight<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His remarks come after months of firings and disparagement of the Justice Department workforce by President Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nIn turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"His remarks come after months of firings and disparagement of the Justice Department workforce by President Trump.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7033eb6346ac8ef3ce152206921c892d-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059\"},\"wordCount\":1035,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059\",\"name\":\"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo\\\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=9059#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"His remarks come after months of firings and disparagement of the Justice Department workforce by President Trump.","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7033eb6346ac8ef3ce152206921c892d-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general","datePublished":"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059"},"wordCount":1035,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059","name":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-13T23:35:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/30f04f6309194224d312f9bf1a0d9b0e-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, August 5, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=9059#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In turnabout, Blanche lauds DOJ career staff in first speech as attorney general"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}