Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) reached a deal with the Justice Department that puts Todd Blanche back on track to be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s attorney general before the August recess.The agreement, announced by Cornyn in a Sunday night statement, rescinds the president’s “anti-weaponization” fund in writing and restates testimony from Blanche’s confirmation hearing, during which he told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that Trump’s immunity from tax audits is limited in scope.The two concessions were at the center of a May settlement by the Justice Department that sparked outrage on Capitol Hill. Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), both Judiciary Committee members, refused to vote to advance Blanche’s nomination without written confirmation that the administration would abide by his testimony.
“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 Cornyn spokeswoman Natalie Yezbick.Blanche also released a Sunday night letter stating that the fund would not be moving forward. It was controversial, in part, because Republicans feared the administration would use taxpayer money to pay out Jan. 6 defendants. The president confirmed that suspicion in recent days, telling reporters earlier on Sunday that he might revive the fund if Blanche is not confirmed.“If they don’t approve Todd, I’ll put it back on the table,” Trump said. “A lot of people like it. A lot of big supporters of Trump like it.”
