A crucial committee vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general could be postponed, Sen. John Cornyn said Tuesday, amid a struggle over changing a settlement agreement Blanche brokered between President Donald Trump and the IRS.
Cornyn (R-Texas) said a delay in the planned Senate Judiciary Committee vote Thursday is “being discussed but hopefully … won’t be necessary” as he pushes for ironclad modifications to the IRS settlement that created a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and immunized Trump from tax audits.
“If there’s not enough votes to confirm him, then Senator Grassley might decide to postpone it. But I don’t think that’s the No. 1 goal right now,” Cornyn said, referring to Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Cornyn said he had discussed the idea of postponement with other senators but not directly with Grassley. A spokesperson for Grassley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has also been undecided on Blanche’s nomination, have significant leverage. Due to blanket Democratic opposition, it would take only one Republican “no” to effectively kill Blanche’s nomination.
Cornyn and his staff have been talking to the Justice Department about modifying the settlement, and the senator insists he wants the changes in writing.
“They know what they need to do,” Cornyn said Tuesday about DOJ. “They just don’t want to do it.”
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