President Trump publicly attacked Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn after they opposed his choice to make Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche permanent, tying the fight to a push for a congressional Anti-Weaponization Bill to replace a shelved Justice Department fund that he says would compensate those harmed by political prosecutions.
Trump accused the two senators of playing politics instead of protecting conservative priorities, and he threatened to keep Blanche as Acting Attorney General while he pushed the Anti-Weaponization Bill through Congress. The nomination fight has become a flashpoint inside the GOP, with lawmakers weighing Blanche’s qualifications against worries about the abandoned settlement that had created a $1.8 billion compensation pot.
The jarred settlement was reached to create a fund for alleged victims of political “weaponization” after litigation involving the IRS and Treasury. Critics said the executive branch overstepped in setting up that program without Congress, and the Justice Department later said it would not move forward with the fund, effectively shelving it.
“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done,” Trump wrote in a Saturday morning post on Truth Social.
Cornyn and Tillis each signaled they would not advance Blanche’s confirmation out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, citing the need for formal assurances that the fund would remain dead in writing. That demand has become the central sticking point, with senators saying the settlement’s status must be clarified before they deliver a yes vote.
“I think I am prepared to vote no, but I do think I owe it to my constituents and to Mr. Blanche to try to negotiate in good faith,” Cornyn told Capitol Hill reporters. His position reflects both a cautious approach to executive overreach and a political calculation after a bruising primary season in Texas.
During Blanche’s confirmation hearing, Cornyn pressed him directly about the settlement and whether the parties had agreed to modify the fund. “Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?” Cornyn asked Blanche. “No, the settlement fund is just not moving forward,” Blanche replied.
Tillis, who said recently he would not seek reelection after facing pressure from a prospective Trump-backed primary challenge, called the fund a “payout pot for punks” and warned that resurrecting it would split Senate Republicans. “Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump 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. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday,” Tillis wrote
Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent earlier in the year, rejects the idea that revenge drove his stance. “That’s a convenient excuse, and it happens to be untrue,” Cornyn told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, pushing back against suggestions his opposition is personal.
Trump has warned he would like the fund to exist because he believes many people were wronged by the current administration. “Well, it is dead. But you know, I wish it weren’t to be honest with you, I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused. This has nothing to do with this was me, horribly abused. And I’d like to see them compensated for the the pain,” he told reporters at a Cabinet meeting.
Blanche is slated for a committee vote Tuesday that will decide whether his nomination moves to the full Senate, and the outcome will test whether Republicans can unite around a nominee while settling disputes over executive settlements and congressional authority. The broader battle over how to handle claims of political targeting is likely to keep this fight in the headlines as the Senate considers whether to confirm Blanche or leave him as acting chief.
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