President Donald Trump’s pick for US Attorney General faced criticism from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on his approach to crypto enforcement and the pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche faced backlash Wednesday over the Justice Department’s (DoJ) enforcement of crypto-related crimes and other actions as President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney appeared before a Senate hearing considering his nomination to lead the agency.
The ranking Democrat, Senator Dick Durbin, used part of his opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to criticize Trump’s AG pick for what he described as “dismantling DoJ’s enforcement team and shutting down ongoing criminal investigations of the crypto industry.”
Blanche was reportedly behind the disbanding of the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement unit in April 2025 as deputy attorney general.
Todd Blanche speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Source: Associated Press
The Illinois lawmaker said that Blanche’s order dismantling the DoJ’s crypto unit enable Trump to earn $1.4 billion from his ties to the industry, including his family’s business World Liberty Financial.
He also accused former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of “broker[ing] a deal to channel $2 billion” into World Liberty, which led to a presidential pardon. The former CEO agreed in 2023 to plead guilty to one felony charge related to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime at the exchange.
“Every smarmy, suspect deal in this administration has cryptocurrency behind the curtain,” said Durbin.
Senate Republicans need a simple majority of lawmakers present to confirm Blanche as AG should his nomination advance in the judiciary panel. With Senator Mitch McConnell still hospitalized after what his team described as a fall that led to pneumonia, the party has a slim 52-47 margin to confirm Blanche, who faces pushback over the DoJ’s actions on immigration and its crypto policies, claims that he would facilitate Trump’s attacks on perceived enemies and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
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Blanche also faced crypto-related questions from Republican Senator Thom Tillis who said he was “concerned that the Binance CEO got pardoned.” Blanche said that he would review the pardon process if confirmed.
The Trump AG pick was behind a 2025 memo “ending regulation by prosecution” in the crypto industry and previously held at least $159,000 worth of digital asset-related investments before divesting them to his children and grandchildren.
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