The US Senate judiciary committee has scheduled a meeting for early next week to consider Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, even as Donald Trump promises to revive the controversial $1.8bn 'anti-weaponization' fund, a proposal he had earlier declared 'dead'. The meeting, set for Tuesday, comes as Blanche's confirmation stalls over a dispute between the president and outgoing Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who demand written assurance that the justice department will not establish the fund.
Senate Committee Moves Forward
A spokesperson for the committee said in a statement that Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the panel, 'wants Todd Blanche's nomination to be successful'. The statement added: 'Grassley would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess as he has an excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.'
Opponents of the president consider the fund a slush pot to compensate political allies for what they call political lawfare, while supporters argue it is a vehicle to compensate individuals who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the government more broadly.
Trump's Reversal
'It is dead, but I wish it weren't, to be honest with you. I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused,' Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Friday. 'I'd like to see them compensated for the pain.' At that meeting, Trump urged Republican senators to confirm Blanche, warning they 'will never get anybody like him', and repeated a claim that Cornyn was blocking the nomination because Trump had endorsed Cornyn's primary challenger, Ken Paxton.
'I'd be upset also,' Trump said. 'I fully understand it. He shouldn't be that way. I shouldn't be that way.'
On Saturday, Trump escalated the feud, slamming Cornyn and Tillis in a post on Truth Social, claiming both were upset because he had not endorsed them. He threatened to withdraw Blanche's nomination, keep him as acting attorney general, and 'push hard' for an anti-weaponization bill. 'Todd Blanche was a voice of reason!' Trump wrote. 'It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done.'
Fund Details and Opposition
Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, has told senators the fund is dead but has so far declined to put that in writing. The 'anti-weaponization' fund was crafted as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the justice department to resolve his $10bn lawsuit against the IRS over allegedly mishandling his tax records. Trump wrote that the fund 'will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed'.
Tillis has said those who attacked law enforcement during the 6 January 2021 riots should remain in prison and should not receive a check from the federal government. Cornyn and Tillis also object to an IRS deal that would prevent tax audits of Trump and his associates.
Response from Tillis
Tillis responded on Saturday, saying that despite Trump's comments that the fund is dead, the president 'clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against'.
'It's unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal,' he said on X. 'Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.'
Implications and Next Steps
The back-and-forth over Blanche's nomination, which is vigorously opposed by victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of investigative files related to the late sex trafficker, now likely lies with backroom negotiations over the weekend. The same controversy dogged Trump's original second-term attorney general, Pam Bondi, before she resigned. Cornyn and Tillis were reported to be close to backing Blanche as recently as Thursday. But with just more than two years left in Trump's second term, Blanche may not need formal Senate confirmation to serve so long as his nomination is pending and not formally rejected or withdrawn.
