Blanche Fills DOJ Leadership Position in First Post-Bondi Move

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has elevated Justice Department aide and conservative litigator Trent McCotter to a critical role with authority to shape a new leadership vision in the wake of Pam Bondi’s ouster.

McCotter, who before rejoining DOJ in January was representing Steve Bannon and challenging corporate diversity policies, was appointed as principal associate deputy attorney general, Blanche announced on X Thursday. It’s a position with considerable behind-the-scenes sway over enforcement and personnel that was last held by Emil Bove.

DOJ’s new interim leader also said recently confirmed Fraud Division head Colin McDonald would be “helping Trent” in the deputy AG’s office, indicating the duo will split the day-to-day management responsibilities Blanche held as the department’s No. 2 before he moved up to replace Bondi last week.

Blanche had yet to permanently replace Bove since he left for the federal bench last summer, creating a void for a job that under Bove was known for heavy-handed tactics and restructuring the department to meet Trump priorities.

McCotter brings significant civil litigation and appellate experience from numerous prior posts at DOJ and in private practice. He left Jenner & Block’s Supreme Court and appellate practice group in 2017 to serve as an assistant US attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, before rising to deputy associate attorney general at Main Justice in the final months of President Donald Trump’s first term.

McCotter was a partner at the conservative firm Boyden Gray from 2021 until joining DOJ this year initially as an associate deputy AG. While at Boyden Gray, he filed a petition last year for anti-DEI organizations led by Ed Blum to request the Securities and Exchange Commission adopt rules prohibiting proxy firms from considering gender, race, or ethnicity of director nominees in voting advice to investors.

Although it’s unclear how long Blanche will lead DOJ temporarily and whether he’d eventually be Trump’s attorney general nominee, the White House is in no hurry to make a permanent decision as Trump assesses Blanche’s performance as acting, Bloomberg News reported.