2026年4月11日美国东部时间上午9:00 / 福克斯新闻
福克斯新闻独家首发： 福克斯新闻数字频道证实，在帕姆·邦迪上周被迫离职后的数小时内，代理司法部长托德·布兰奇与唐纳德·特朗普总统举行了会晤，为自己全职担任该职位进行游说。
两名知情人士告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，白宫高级官员鼓励布兰奇与总统沟通，而与此同时，环境保护局局长李·泽尔丁等人选也曾短暂被列为可能的继任者。在那次会晤中，布兰奇阐述了自己为何应该成为下一任司法部长的理由。
白宫新闻秘书卡洛琳·莱维特向福克斯新闻数字频道证实，总统与当时的副司法部长周四进行了交谈，一名熟悉布兰奇当日行程的消息人士也证实了这一点。
特朗普上周四在社交媒体帖子中宣布邦迪离开司法部，并称布兰奇将以代理身份接任该职务，福克斯新闻和福克斯新闻数字频道此前已对此进行了报道。
霍曼承诺移民任务“不会有丝毫懈怠”，邦迪离职司法部
托德·布兰奇将担任美国代理司法部长，此前他的前老板帕姆·邦迪于上周被解职。（安娜·蒙尼梅克/盖蒂图片社）
如果布兰奇想要获得总统的提名，接下来的行动可能至关重要——而随着中期选举倒计时的推进，在国会可能出现政党权力更迭之前，他只有数月时间来说服总统，自己能够领导这个拥有约12万名员工的司法部。
“目前这个职位实际上已经是托德的囊中之物了，”其中一名接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访的消息人士表示。
不过，一名在司法部工作了30年的资深人士推测，布兰奇不会获得正式提名，将继续以代理身份领导司法部。
帕姆·邦迪已被解职总检察长一职，内阁官员已被提名接任：消息人士
“特朗普最稳妥的做法就是让布兰奇继续担任代理职务，至少在中期选举前都是如此，他是绝对的忠诚派，这样就能避免一场确认之战，”前司法部检察官凯文·弗林告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“就推进特朗普的报复议程而言，我认为布兰奇作为代理[司法部长]所能做的事情，与经过确认的司法部长几乎没有区别。”
福克斯新闻数字频道此前一天曾率先报道，特朗普于2026年4月1日周三在椭圆形办公室的一次会议上解雇了邦迪，当时他正要发表关于伊朗战争的全国讲话。特朗普于当天下午1点17分在Truth Social上证实了她的离职，距离该报道公开大约45分钟。
托德·布兰奇曾在特朗普第一任期和第二任期之间的审判期间担任特朗普的私人律师。图为2024年5月30日周四，两人在纽约市特朗普封口费审判结束后现身媒体面前。（迈克尔·圣地亚哥/美联社泳池照片）
在邦迪被解职后、特朗普正式宣布司法部人事变动前的数小时内，布兰奇据称与总统进行了一次重要对话，期间他被告知将担任代理司法部长。另一名知情人士称，布兰奇在随后的讨论中游说争取全职职位。
该人士还表示，布兰奇在成为代理司法部长后的几天里，曾因各种原因多次前往白宫。
另一名消息人士称，正是这次后续谈话让总统有信心提名布兰奇——至少目前是如此。
消息人士转述特朗普对这位前私人律师的说法是：“这是你的试镜。”
司法部发言人告诉福克斯新闻数字频道：“布兰奇在福克斯新闻的相关报道发布后，于周四离开播客录制现场后接到了总统的电话。”
当被问及两人是否在周四交谈时，总统的发言人莱维特回答说：“是的，他们谈过了。”
2026年4月1日周三，唐纳德·特朗普总统在白宫的一次会议上解雇了司法部长帕姆·邦迪。（安娜·蒙尼梅克/盖蒂图片社）
司法部和白宫均不愿置评上周两人的谈话内容，以及布兰奇是否为晋升进行了游说。
无论如何，现在轮到布兰奇证明自己完全胜任这份全职工作了。
他的首次考验是周二下午的一场新闻发布会，主题是特朗普打击欺诈行为的举措。
布兰奇似乎通过了这场“脉搏测试”：他大肆赞扬总统，并表示如果未被选为下一任司法部长，他也不会有任何不满。“我为特朗普总统工作是我的荣幸，这是我一生中最大的荣耀，”他说，“如果特朗普总统选择提名其他人，并让我去做其他事情，我会说‘非常感谢，我爱你，总统先生’。”
他立即着手改组司法部。
周四，布兰奇宣布任命特伦特·麦科特为首席副司法部长。他还在周二的新闻发布会上成立了新的司法部欺诈部门，并任命科林·麦克唐纳担任该部门的助理司法部长。
此外，他还带了两名信任的顾问到总检察长办公室：沙恩·赫奇斯和詹姆斯·麦克亨利。
一名知情人士告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，如果布兰奇希望长期担任这一职务，他可能需要与邦迪划清界限，摆脱她的失误——尤其是杰弗里·爱泼斯坦文件丑闻。
美国代理司法部长托德·布兰奇称围绕邦迪被解雇的猜测“完全不实”
许多报道称，帕姆·邦迪被解雇的部分原因是她处理杰弗里·爱泼斯坦文件的方式。（里克·弗里德曼/里克·弗里德曼摄影/考比斯通过盖蒂图片社）
2025年2月，邦迪表示她已将爱泼斯坦的文件放在办公桌上。在接下来的一年里，陆续披露的文件没有发现与这名性贩子的罪行相关的新调查或起诉，令美国人感到不满。
这位知情人士表示，自那以后，邦迪的每一步行动都在努力“弥补”她未兑现的发布爱泼斯坦客户名单的承诺。
说服特朗普自己是这份工作的合适人选只是第一道难关。布兰奇还需要在国会通过一场必然会十分艰难的确认程序。
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邦迪在参议院以54票赞成、46票反对获得通过，所有53名共和党议员以及民主党参议员约翰·费特曼（D-宾夕法尼亚州）投了赞成票。其他所有民主党议员都投了反对票。
由于邦迪的争议与他在特朗普政府的任期挂钩，布兰奇可能会面临一场艰难的确认之战，即便一些共和党人已经对司法部处理爱泼斯坦文件的方式提出批评。
Top White House officials encouraged potential Bondi replacement to make case to Trump for AG job: Sources
April 11, 2026 9:00am EDT / Fox News
FIRST ON FOX:Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche huddled with President Donald Trump in the hours after Pam Bondi was forced out last week to make his pitch for the job full-time, Fox News Digital confirmed.
Blanche was encouraged by top White House officials to speak with the president while other names, like Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, briefly circulated as possible contenders, two sources familiar told Fox News Digital. During that conversation, Blanche made his case for why he should be the next attorney general.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to Fox News Digital that the president and his then-deputy attorney general spoke on Thursday, as did a source familiar with Blanche’s movements that day.
Trump announced Bondi’s departure from the Justice Department and in the same social media post last Thursday said that Blanche would be taking over the role in an acting capacity, as Fox News and Fox News Digital previously reported.
HOMAN VOWS IMMIGRATION MISSION ‘WON’T SKIP A BEAT’ AS BONDI EXITS DOJ
节点运行失败
Todd Blanche will serve as Acting U.S. Attorney General after his former boss Pam Bondi was fired last week.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The next moves could prove crucial for Blanche if he wants to clinch the president’s nomination – and with the countdown ticking to the midterm elections, he only has a few months to convince the president he can lead the roughly 120,000-employee DOJ before a potential party power change in Congress.
“It’s really Todd’s role to lose at this point,” one of the sources who spoke with Fox News Digital said.
A 30-year department veteran, however, speculated that Blanche won’t get the nomination and will continue to run the DOJ in an acting capacity.
PAM BONDI ALREADY FIRED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, CABINET OFFICIAL TEED UP AS REPLACEMENT: SOURCES
“The safest thing for Trump to do is just to keep Blanche, the ultimate loyalist, in place as Acting, at least through the midterms, and avoid a confirmation fight,” former DOJ prosecutor Kevin Flynn told Fox News Digital. “In terms of advancing Trump’s retribution agenda, I think Blanche could do pretty much everything as Acting [Attorney General] as a confirmed AG could do.”
Trump fired Bondi on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, during an Oval Office meeting ahead of his speech to the nation on the war in Iran, Fox News Digital first reported a day after her ouster.
Trump confirmed her departure on Truth Social at 1:17 pm, roughly 45 minutes after the report became public.
Todd Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump during trials between his first and second terms. Here the two appear before the media after the conclusion of Trump’s hush money trial in New York City on Thursday, May 30, 2024.(Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)
In the hours after Bondi was dismissed and before Trump made his official DOJ personnel announcement, Blanche allegedly had a consequential conversation with the president where he was informed he would be acting attorney general. Blanche lobbied to get the full-time position in a following discussion, one source familiar said.
They also said that Blanche went to the White House a few times for various reasons in the days after he became acting AG.
The other source said it was this follow-up conversation that provided the president with the confidence to give Blanche the nod – at least for now.
Trump told his one-time personal attorney, “Here’s your audition,” the source paraphrased.
Blanche “got a call from POTUS after leaving a podcast taping on Thursday following the report on Fox,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital.
When Leavitt was asked if the two chatted on Thursday, the president’s spokesperson replied, “Yes they spoke.”
President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Neither the DOJ nor White House would comment on what the two discussed last week and whether Blanche made his case for a promotion.
Either way, now it’s up to Blanche to prove he’s up for the job full-time.
His first test was a Tuesday afternoon press conference focused on Trump’s push to crack down on fraud.
Blanche likely passed the pulse test as he showered praise on the president and said there would be no love lost if he wasn’t selected to be the next attorney general. “I love working for President Trump,” he said. “It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime. And if President Trump chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I’ll say, ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir.’”
He got to work right away shaping the DOJ.
On Thursday, Blanche announced his appointment of Trent McCotter as the principal associate deputy attorney general. He also stood up the new DOJ fraud division at Tuesday’s press conference and put Colin McDonald in charge as assistant attorney general for the Fraud Division.
Additionally, he took two trusted advisers with him to the attorney general’s office, Shane Hedges and James McHenry.
Blanche will likely need to differentiate himself from Bondi and distance himself from her failures – namely the Jeffrey Epstein files debacle – if he wants longevity in the role, one of the sources familiar told Fox News Digital.
US INTERIM ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE CALLS SPECULATION SURROUNDING BONDI’S FIRING ‘SIMPLY NOT TRUE’
Many reports claim that Pam Bondi was fired, in part, for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.(Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
In February 2025, Bondi said she had the Epstein files on her desk. A trickle of releases over the next year would yield no new investigations or prosecutions related to the sex trafficker’s crimes and left Americans unsatisfied.
The source familiar said every move Bondi made after that was an effort to “clean up” her broken promise to release the Epstein client list.
Convincing Trump he’s the right guy for the job is only the first hurdle. Blanche would also need to get past Congress and a confirmation process that is sure to be grueling.
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Bondi passed with a Senate vote of 54–46, with all 53 Republicans and lone Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., voting for her to be attorney general. Every other Democrat voted against her confirmation.
Blanche, with the legacy of Bondi tied to his tenure in the Trump administration, could face an uphill battle even with some Republicans who have grown critical of the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files.