Todd Blanche took a crucial step towards confirmation as attorney general late Sunday, after Sen. John Cornyn said he had reached a deal with the Justice Department to rein in a controversial settlement agreement President Donald Trump reached with the IRS earlier this year.
The pact was announced Sunday by a Cornyn spokesperson and by Blanche in a X post. Documents posted by Blanche appear to meet the Texas Republican’s demands to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and to limit the scope of an IRS audit immunity deal applying to the president and his family.
The announcement appears to clear the way for Cornyn to approve Blanche at a scheduled Tuesday meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. With Democrats entirely opposed, any Republican defection could be fatal to the nomination.
Senate GOP leaders are hoping to confirm Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since predecessor Pam Bondi resigned in April, before the end of the week.
“Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS,” said Natalie Yezbick, the Cornyn spokesperson.
Blanche said in the X post that he and his team “addressed any concerns or outstanding questions” senators had and issued an order that said the payout fund “is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” It also stated that the “DOJ’s interpretation” of the settlement is that the audit deal applies only to “the named parties in the lawsuit.”
The deal emerged after a 72-hour period where Trump repeatedly attacked Cornyn and said publicly that he regretted that the fund, intended to pay out settlements to Trump political allies, had been withdrawn. He suggested Friday that he would simply withdraw Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it next year — after Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another critic of the settlement, leave Congress.
Tills, another swing vote on the Judiciary Committee, has said he plans to follow Cornyn’s lead. He said in an X post Saturday that “President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks” and that “it’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.”
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