President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he has nominated two defense attorneys from his New York criminal trial to prominent positions within the Department of Justice, Deadline reported.
The appointments reflect Trump's ongoing strategy of placing loyalists in critical government roles, which has sparked concern among legal experts and lawmakers about the DOJ's independence.
Todd Blanche, who represented Trump during his trial involving payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, has been tapped to serve as deputy attorney general. Emil Bove, another member of Trump's legal team in that case, has been picked to be principal associate deputy attorney general.
Bove will serve as acting deputy attorney general while Blanche awaits Senate confirmation.
"These appointments are crucial for fixing what has been a broken system of justice for far too long," Trump said in a statement.
Blanche played a key role as lead counsel in the case. Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the payments made before the 2016 presidential election.
Adding to the controversy, Trump also announced that former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a staunch ally and frequent critic of federal prosecutors, is his pick for attorney general. Gaetz's nomination is expected to face resistance in the Senate, where even some Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations about his confirmation.
Trump has also nominated John Sauer, who represented him in a recent Supreme Court case involving presidential immunity, to serve as solicitor general. Sauer, the former solicitor general of Missouri, would be tasked with arguing the federal government's most critical cases before the nation's highest court.
Critics argue that Trump's reshuffling of DOJ leadership represents a broader effort to centralize power and shield himself from potential legal scrutiny. Supporters, however, have defended the moves necessary to address what they perceive as partisan bias within the department.