The major controversies stalling Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination
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Sen. John Cornyn speaks with reporters outside a Senate hearing room on Capitol Hill in Washington. Photo: Oliver Contreras/AFP via Getty Images
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination to the full-time role is facing multiple roadblocks.
Why it matters: Blanche's stalled confirmation leaves the Justice Department without a permanent attorney general while exposing rare Republican resistance to one of President Trump's top nominees.
- The stalled nomination stems from multiple disputes involving Senate Republicans, the White House and Epstein survivors.
State of play: Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas) are blocking Blanche's path to confirmation.
- A "no" vote from either senator, who are both on the Senate Judiciary Committee, would prevent him from advancing to a full Senate confirmation hearing.
- On Thursday, Trump suggested he'd have no problem withdrawing Blanche's nomination until both senators leave office in January, and keeping Blanche as acting attorney general until then.
Read more below.
Cornyn's ultimatum
The fate of an IRS settlement agreement involving Trump sits at the center of Blanche's stalled nomination.
- Cornyn and Tillis want written guarantees that the settlement won't go forward, which they say the DOJ hasn't provided.
Flashback: Trump sued the federal government in January for $10 billion over the 2019 leak of his tax returns.
- He later settled his lawsuit in exchange for a $1.776 billion fund — called the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — to compensate those who claim they were targets of government "weaponization."
- Blanche, Trump's former criminal defense lawyer, helped create it.
Now, Cornyn is calling on Blanche to make a written change to the settlement agreement that aligns with Blanche's oral comments that the anti-weaponization fund has been eliminated.
- He also wants Blanche to acknowledge that the IRS' agreement not to audit Trump, his family or his business has been scaled back.
Trump and White House involvement
Following Trump's threat to withdraw Blanche's nomination, Cornyn and Tillis both suggested Thursday that someone at the White House was ruining a confirmation deal for the acting AG.
- Cornyn told reporters: "I think if this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out. But apparently he's getting some pushback from higher-ups at the White House. I don't know who, but this doesn't need to be this hard."
Epstein survivor backlash and Tillis' withheld vote.
On Thursday, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse made an effort to stop Blanche's nomination by speaking out to the media.
- The survivors have long been critical of the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files, as well as Blanche, who was deputy attorney general when most of the files about investigations of Epstein and alleged associates were released.
Context: Earlier in July, Tillis said he would not vote to confirm Blanche until the acting AG met with Epstein survivors.
- Blanche had previously said he was prohibited from meeting with survivors, but he could meet with their attorneys.
- Days later, survivors said they met with Blanche, though they described the meeting as more condescending than substantive.
GOP senators breaking from Trump
Because Tillis and Cornyn are not up for reelection, they don't have a strong incentive to align with Trump or the Republican Party.
- Cornyn has shown signs of breaking from Trump since losing his re-election primary bid to Trump-backed challenger and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Senate recess looming
Another major obstacle to Blanche's nomination is that the Senate is scheduled to begin its August recess at the end of the week.
- Senators aren't expected to return until mid-September.
