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Blanche nomination stalled
President Donald Trump said he may temporarily withdraw Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general until Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina leave office, as the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote over their objections.
“I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office”
Trump wrote on Truth Social, "I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office," while NBC News reported the committee vote was delayed because a single Republican “no” vote would mean the nomination fails to advance.
The dispute centers on the Justice Department’s settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, which included a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and protections from IRS audits for Trump, his family members, and related entities.
NBC News reported that Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement, and that Tillis said the "1776 fund needs to go away, or they’re going to hang this yoke around our candidates’ necks".
Blanche, who is the acting attorney general, met with Cornyn and Tillis on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, and NBC News reported the meeting lasted a little over 45 minutes before Cornyn had to catch a flight back to Texas.
Cornyn and Tillis push for writing
Cornyn responded on X that Trump was mistaken about the scope of the senators’ concerns, saying, "POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," as NBC News described the holdout as a fight over the settlement’s terms.
Tillis told reporters that the standoff was about the fund and what it means for candidates, arguing, "What I’m focused on is the main thing, and the main thing is the 1776 fund needs to go away," and adding that he believed someone wanted to enable it "at the right time."
NBC News reported that Cornyn said he believed Blanche was negotiating in good faith but that approval was “above his pay grade,” while Cornyn also said the Justice Department was reluctant to change the formal settlement documents.
In the same coverage, NBC News said Cornyn and Tillis were pushing for the Justice Department to formalize the verbal commitment in writing and to narrow the part of the settlement that provided protections against IRS audits.
The Hill framed the standoff as a feud over how to formally kill the $1.776 billion fund, noting that Trump said he would consider withdrawing Blanche’s nomination "to simply wait out the two lame-duck Republican senators" holding him up, Cornyn and Tillis.
What happens next
The standoff leaves Blanche’s confirmation in limbo, with NBC News reporting that the committee vote was postponed and that if Democrats flip control of the Senate, they could block Blanche’s nomination.
“the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote to advance Blanche’s nomination over objections from Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina”
NBC News also reported that Blanche testified during his congressional hearing that the weaponization fund "is dead," and that the audit protections do not extend beyond the parties to the lawsuit, while the settlement "doesn’t cover any government entity except the IRS."
In parallel, The Hill described how the fight has become tied to broader questions about the “anti-weaponization” fund and the power of the Senate GOP, with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) saying his focus was "concentrating on the next few days to get this nomination through."
The Hill further reported that Tillis said the fund would be a campaign liability for colleagues and that he believed the only logical conclusion from the setback was that "there is somebody who wants to enable it at the right time," which he called unacceptable.
NBC News reported that the White House dispute includes claims of pushback from higher-ups, with a senior administration official saying people familiar with conversations involving Cornyn accused the senator of moving the goalposts, canceling meetings, and refusing to communicate with the department.
