President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wouldn’t object to temporarily withdrawing Todd Blanche as his nominee for attorney general amid resistance from two Republican senators, another major blow to Blanche’s confirmation battle.
Trump said he could renominate Blanche after Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the primary voices of opposition, have left the Senate in the new year. But that itself is a gamble, as the makeup of the Senate could shift in ways that would make Blanche’s confirmation even more difficult.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
The president’s announcement puts Blanche’s nomination in even further peril, escalating a battle between the administration and GOP lawmakers over a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and an agreement that shields Trump and his family from government action over tax issues.
Reacting to Trump’s threat, Cornyn told CNN on Thursday that it “sounds like” the administration is resisting his demands in order to keep the fund and limitations on tax audits for the president and his family on the table.
