Trump says he's open to delaying Blanche nomination over GOP defectors
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Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Trump said Thursday that he would have "no objection" to temporarily withdrawing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination until his Republican opponents are out of office next January.
The big picture: Trump's threat, directed at GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas), puts Blanche's critics on notice as to what the president deemed "the right thing" after their concerns stalled the acting attorney general's nomination.
- Cornyn lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger, and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Tillis chose not to seek re-election.
Driving the news: "Todd Blanche is a STAR," Trump wrote of his former personal attorney turned Justice Department loyalist.
- He added that Blanche would "remain, in any event, as Acting."
- Cornyn had demanded a written guarantee that the administration's controversial $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" was dead. The fund was born out of a scrutinized settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS.
State of play: A "no" vote from Tillis or Cornyn, who both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, would prevent Blanche's nomination from advancing to a confirmation vote before the full Senate.
- On Wednesday night, the committee postponed a crucial vote on Blanche's nomination over the Republicans' steadfast opposition.
Reality check: Even if the president withdraws Blanche's name for confirmation, he would retain the vast power of the nation's chief law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, as he has since this spring.
What they're saying: "POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn wrote in a post on X.
- During Blanche's confirmation hearing before a Senate panel earlier this month, Cornyn questioned whether there had been a written agreement to modify the IRS settlement fund, which Blanche said was "just not moving forward."
- Cornyn does have a point — GOP concerns over the head-turning settlement, which has been lambasted by a federal judge, have already derailed the party's legislative goals.
- Bashed as a political slush fund that could benefit those convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the administration dropped the fund after a federal judge blocked the money's disbursement.
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with additional information.
