Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Sen. Van Hollen tells AG Blanche he is acting like Trump's 'personal attorney’
Posted
May 19, 2026
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May 19, 2026
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2:38Now PlayingSen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday for acting more like President Donald Trump's personal attorney than the leader of the U.S. Justice Department.
Van Hollen had asked Blanche whether he would submit the proposal to create a new “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to a federal judge or independent authority.
The Justice Department announced the fund on Monday as part of a settlement with Trump to end a lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his tax returns. The nearly $1.8 billion fund would offer payouts to Trump allies who claim they had been unfairly targeted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration.
Blanche said there is no federal judge as the case has been dismissed and asked Van Hollen what constituted an independent authority.
“Not somebody who’s getting to pick five of the members who was the president’s former personal attorney,” Van Hollen said, meaning Blanche. “That would be somebody who would be independent.”
Blanche responded, “I used to be President Trump's lawyer, it's just a fact, but I am the acting attorney general, so don't say the president's former personal lawyer will do something. The acting attorney general will do something.”
“Mr. Attorney General, you are acting today like the president's personal attorney and that's the whole problem,” Van Hollen said.
Blanche was invited to testify on Trump’s 2027 budget request for the Justice Department, facing questions on a number of issues.
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