Two key Republican senators have expressed misgivings about supporting Blanche's nomination.Show Caption
WASHINGTON – Facing resistance from two Republican senators who are slated to leave Congress in January, President Donald Trump said July 30 he may temporarily pull his nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, though Trump's pick would remain in his current role.Trump's comments come as Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley canceled a scheduled vote for the morning of July 30 on whether to send Blanche's attorney general nomination to the full Senate for a final vote, after Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina expressed misgivings about voting "yes" without concessions from Blanche's Justice Department."Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it!" Trump posted on Truth Social on July 30. "However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting.""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 added.Blanche's confirmation process has floundered over objections to his handling of a settlement of a lawsuit from Trump against the IRS. It attempted to shield Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization from tax audits and to create a nearly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that might have given taxpayer dollars to Trump supporters who committed crimes during the Capitol riot.In the face of bipartisan backlash, Blanche has said the DOJ won't move forward with the fund, which a federal judge has since also blocked. Still, some senators have sought reassurances the fund won't be resurrected in some form.Some have also criticized the tax immunity part of the deal as self-dealing on Trump's part, given he nominates and can fire DOJ leaders."I wasn't involved in the settlement. I could have been involved, but I didn't choose to be," Trump told reporters May 21.Grassley told reporters July 30 that he was focusing on finding a compromise, but didn’t entertain Trump’s idea of waiting on the nomination."I’m trying to find a resolution. Why would I consider anything else?" he said.Tillis reiterated that his main issue is making sure the "anti-weaponization" fund truly goes away.Asked whether waiting until he and Cornyn are gone next year would be wise, Tillis told reporters the president "will have to decide what the split looks like."“I’m not a no. I’m still working on getting this done and I’m still optimistic that we will," Tillis said.Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, who is retiring in January, told USA TODAY he believes other Republican senators agree with Cornyn and Tillis, but have been afraid to say the first word about it."These two senators, like me, are lame ducks. And they have more courage to deal with these issues than their colleagues," Durbin said.Cornyn himself said in a July 30 post on X that he and Tillis aren't alone in their concerns about the settlement."POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn posted.The day before, the Texas senator told reporters that he wants the DOJ to modify the deal in writing in various ways, including to clarify that it will only shield the Trumps from audits for past tax years and that it won't protect them from being investigated by federal agencies outside of the IRS and Treasury Department.(This story has been updated with additional information.)
