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Blanche nomination in jeopardy
President Donald Trump said Thursday he may withdraw and delay Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination until Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis leave office in January, while Blanche remains acting attorney general.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote to advance Blanche’s nomination”
ABC News reported that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday afternoon with Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis after Trump threatened to pull the nomination, and that it was the first meeting the group has had this week following Cornyn’s multiple cancellations.
Trump’s threat was tied to the senators’ demands for written assurances about the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, including the nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the scope of Trump’s immunity deal with the IRS.
NBC News said the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its vote to advance Blanche’s nomination over objections from Cornyn and Tillis, and that a single Republican “no” vote would mean the nomination fails to advance.
AP News added that the U.S. and Iran each fired barrages of missiles Thursday, with Jordan saying it intercepted Iranian missiles for the second consecutive day, as the political fight over Blanche unfolded.
Cornyn, Tillis demand paper
Cornyn said on X that “POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis,” and he argued the Justice Department was “balking at putting that in writing.”
NBC News reported that Cornyn met with Blanche later Thursday afternoon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and that the meeting lasted a little over 45 minutes, ending only because Cornyn had to catch a flight back to Texas.
Tillis told reporters on Thursday that Trump could “roll the dice” and wait out his and Cornyn’s Senate terms, but said Trump is getting bad advice on how to proceed with Blanche’s nomination.
According to NPR, Trump said he would keep Blanche on as acting attorney general and renominate him later, while Cornyn and Tillis withheld support over concerns about the Justice Department’s deal with Trump to end his IRS lawsuit.
CNN reported that Cornyn suggested “There are more than just two people who have reservations about the weaponization fund,” as the nomination battle escalated between the administration and GOP lawmakers over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and the tax settlement.
What happens next
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its scheduled Thursday vote on Blanche’s nomination, and NBC News said the nomination cannot move forward without Cornyn and Tillis’s support.
“Acting department officials can serve in the role for 210 days”
ABC News reported that withdrawing Blanche’s nomination would have no consequence in terms of Blanche leading the DOJ because Blanche can continue to serve as acting attorney general, with acting department officials able to serve for 210 days under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
USA Today said Cornyn wanted the DOJ to modify the deal in writing so it would only shield Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization from audits for past tax years and not protect them from being investigated by federal agencies outside of the IRS and Treasury Department.
NPR reported that Trump said he was willing to pull Blanche’s nomination temporarily, but that plan would be far more difficult if Democrats win the Senate in November, given the possibility of a Senate control shift.
Meanwhile, AP News said body cameras will start being shipped to ICE offices next week after Acting ICE Director David Venturella confirmed that policy requires at least one ICE officer to wear a body-worn camera during enforcement interactions, with Susan Collins saying cameras will be deployed nationwide by the end of August.
