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Blanche nomination stalled
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he could temporarily withdraw acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general after Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina resisted the deal around a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and an agreement that shields Trump and his family from government action over tax issues.
“Trump said he could renominate Blanche after Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina”
The dispute escalated after the Senate Judiciary Committee was forced to postpone a vote to advance Blanche’s nomination amid resistance from Cornyn and Tillis, with Cornyn telling CNN that it “sounds like” the administration is resisting his demands to keep the fund and limitations on tax audits for the president and his family.
Trump’s threat put Blanche’s confirmation battle further in peril, but the nomination delay did not end Blanche’s role because he was previously confirmed as deputy attorney general and could likely stay in the acting role as long as Trump wants to keep him there.
Vox framed Blanche’s record as being marked by “unflinching devotion to Trump’s personal priorities,” including creating a vast $1.8 billion slush fund to reward Trump’s allies and immunizing the president and his family from scrutiny by the IRS via an unusual settlement deal.
In the background of the nomination fight, NBC News also tied the stalled committee action to concerns about the settlement that gave Trump tax audit immunity and created the nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
Cornyn, Tillis demand writing
Cornyn and Tillis have said they will not support Blanche’s nomination without additional assurances in writing about the settlement, and AP reported that with all Democratic senators opposed, just one Republican holdout on the Senate Judiciary Committee could sink Blanche’s chances for confirmation.
After Trump’s Truth Social post, Cornyn told CNN that it “sounds like” the administration is resisting his demands in order to keep the fund and limitations on tax audits for the president and his family on the table.
Tillis, speaking to reporters before Trump’s Truth Social post, said: “This is not about Blanche. Blanche is negotiating in good faith. We have somebody else in the way, and I don’t believe it’s the president.”
AP described the senators’ sticking points as including a settlement provision that said the U.S. government is “forever barred and precluded” from scrutinizing or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization’s current and past tax examinations.
NBC News added that Cornyn and Tillis met with Blanche, and that Cornyn’s concerns about the settlement agreement resulted in postponement of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on Blanche’s nomination.
What happens next
Trump’s strategy, as described by AP, was to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands by pulling Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post and resubmitting it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year.
“Trump suggested he was holding firm against pressure from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis”
AP also reported that Blanche can still lead the Justice Department as either acting attorney general or deputy attorney general, and that the deputy attorney general can perform the duties of the attorney general if that post is vacant.
Fox News warned that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, a cabinet-level official can stay in an acting role for 210 days, and that the timer resets if there is a pending nomination in the Senate.
The Hill described the political risk of Trump’s approach as Republicans potentially losing control of the Senate in the midterm elections or losing enough seats to shrink their majority and complicate Blanche’s path to confirmation in 2027.
Across coverage, the core stakes remained the same: Cornyn and Tillis demanded written assurances that the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund will never be established and sought changes to the settlement’s audit immunity provisions, while Trump said he would keep Blanche as acting and renominate him after Cornyn and Tillis step down.
