President Donald Trump said Saturday that Todd Blanche will remain acting attorney general if the Senate refuses to confirm him, and that he will push Congress to pass legislation creating the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund tied to his legal settlement with the Justice Department. In a morning post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called Blanche “one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country” and said that if the Republican senators blocking the nomination will not support him, he will “push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill … PASSED.”
The remarks reverse Trump’s position from Friday, when he said the fund was dead. The proposed fund was crafted as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the Justice Department to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the alleged mishandling of his tax records, but it was put on hold amid opposition from Republicans in Congress.
Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have held up Blanche’s nomination while seeking written assurances that the Justice Department will not set up the fund, which critics have derided as a slush fund to reward supporters with taxpayer money. Cornyn lost a primary election in May to Trump’s chosen candidate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Tillis said last year that he will not seek re-election. Both leave office in January.
Tillis wrote Saturday that Blanche would not be confirmed because of Trump’s reversal, although he hoped the matter could be resolved by Tuesday, when the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote on the nomination. “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,” Tillis posted on X. Cornyn’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite the standoff, Blanche may not need Senate confirmation to serve out Trump’s term. Acting officials can serve as long as their nomination is pending in the Senate and is not formally rejected or withdrawn. Trump has previously said he could resubmit Blanche’s nomination next year after Cornyn and Tillis have left office.
The fund could benefit Trump allies who say they were unfairly targeted by the federal government for their involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol after Trump lost his re-election bid in 2020. Cornyn and Tillis also object to an IRS deal that would prevent tax audits of Trump and his associates.
The fight tests the limits of Trump’s influence over Senate Republicans ahead of the November midterms and raises questions about the independence of the Justice Department. If the committee vote fails on Tuesday, Blanche would remain in his acting role with the nomination still pending, a position he could hold for the rest of the term.
Sources: Reuters via Detroit News, AP News, NBC News via MSN.
Author: USA Desk
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