Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to take the podium in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, becoming the latest senior official to step into the briefing role left vacant by former press secretary Karoline Leavitt. A White House official confirmed the appearance to NewsNation, The Hill's sister network.
The move continues a pattern of having top administration figures field questions from the media, a strategy that has gained traction since Leavitt's exit at the end of last month. Blanche's briefing comes just 11 days after Vice President JD Vance addressed reporters in the White House press briefing room—the first such session since July and the first since Leavitt departed.
Blanche's appearance follows a Monday trip to Missouri with Vance, where they announced federal charges against individuals accused of defrauding taxpayers through a COVID-19 era small business relief program. That announcement was part of a broader administration push to highlight fraud enforcement, a theme Blanche is likely to revisit in his remarks.
Rotation of Briefers
President Trump has indicated he is considering a permanent replacement for Leavitt, telling reporters on Sunday that he "may have" a short list of candidates. "We have a lot of people that want it," Trump said during a trip to Ireland. He also suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be "next" to brief, and mentioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon as potential future briefers.
During Leavitt's maternity leave earlier this year, Vance, Rubio, and Bessent all filled in, setting a precedent for the current rotation.
Focus on 9/11 Records
Blanche's briefing is expected to touch on the administration's ongoing release of documents related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In a Monday interview with CBS News, Blanche defended the administration's approach, saying, "The one thing that we are not doing, we're not protecting people. The reason that we're not releasing documents has nothing to do with protecting any government or any entity. It's just to protect, genuine classified [information]."
Family members of 9/11 victims have criticized the administration for allegedly shielding Saudi Arabia from scrutiny regarding its role in the attacks. Blanche's comments suggest he will address these concerns directly.
The Rose Garden venue is a notable choice, as it offers a more formal setting than the cramped press briefing room. The shift to Cabinet officials taking questions could become a more permanent fixture as the White House navigates the post-Leavitt era.
Blanche, who was confirmed by the Senate as attorney general last month, has been a key figure in the administration's legal and enforcement agenda. His briefing is likely to cover not only the 9/11 document releases but also the broader efforts to combat pandemic-related fraud.
The administration's decision to rotate briefers has drawn mixed reactions from political observers, with some praising the exposure of top officials to press scrutiny and others questioning the absence of a dedicated press secretary. Trump has yet to name a permanent successor to Leavitt, leaving the door open for more Cabinet members to take their turn at the microphone.
