Todd Blanche’s AG prospects uncertain as 2 key GOP votes hold out
Cornyn and Tillis are waiting for proof the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is dead.
ByLalee Ibssa
July 27, 2026, 7:10 PM
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces a key vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday in his quest to become the next U.S. attorney general.
However, two Republican senators -- John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- have said they still don't have everything they need from Blanche in order to vote in favor of his nomination.
The issue for the key Republican senators continues to be the uncertain future of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and outstanding changes they want to see made to President Donald Trump's IRS settlement agreement that the fund was part of.
Trump in May announced the $1.776 billion fund to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration, in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion suit against the IRS over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax information during his first term, for which a former IRS contractor pleaded guilty in 2023.
The day after the settlement was announced, Blanche, who was formerly Trump's criminal defense attorney, signed an addendum to the settlement that would bar the government from continuing any existing audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies.
The arrangement sparked accusations of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In Blanche's confirmation hearing on July 15, Cornyn repeatedly noted that the original settlement that first established the fund has still yet to be formally rescinded. While Blanche acknowledged that, he also said the Department of Justice would be fine with codifying in some way to assure senators the fund would not move forward.
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https://abcnews.com/Politics/todd-blanches-ag-prospects-uncertain-2-key-gop/story?id=135135864
