GOP Senators Stall Trump's AG Pick Over IRS Fund
Intra-Party Split Detected
GOP Sens. Cornyn and Tillis are withholding support for Trump's AG nominee Todd Blanche over unresolved demands for written assurances on an IRS-related settlement fund, breaking with most Republicans and drawing sharp criticism from conservative media outlets like The Federalist, which accuse them of sabotaging Trump's agenda.
Left says
- •A $1.776 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund and audit immunity provisions tied to Trump's own IRS lawsuit settlement raise serious conflict-of-interest concerns, since they would shield Trump, his family, and their companies from tax enforcement on past filings.
- •Even Republican senators recognize the arrangement lets a sitting president's own Justice Department negotiate special financial and legal protections for him, which undermines the principle that no one is above the law.
- •The fact that DOJ has resisted putting simple written assurances in writing, even after being handed exact language, suggests reluctance to fully close the door on reviving the fund or narrowing the immunity provisions.
- •This episode illustrates how thoroughly the Justice Department's independence has been eroded when a president's legal settlement with a federal agency becomes entangled with his own attorney general nomination.
Right says
- •Todd Blanche is a proven, loyal ally who defended Trump against politically motivated prosecutions and has already redirected the DOJ toward lower crime rates, cartel prosecutions, and away from what they see as Biden-era weaponization and DEI overreach.
- •Cornyn and Tillis are demanding clear written confirmation that the anti-weaponization fund is truly dead and that audit immunity doesn't extend beyond the original lawsuit parties, a reasonable request given DOJ has already said these are non-issues.
- •Some conservative voices argue Cornyn and Tillis, both facing the end of their political careers, are using this moment to obstruct a well-qualified nominee rather than genuinely protecting taxpayers, especially since the fund is already described as defunct.
- •Blanche himself testified under oath that the immunity doesn't apply beyond the original settlement parties and that future audits aren't blocked, which supporters say should be sufficient absent evidence of bad faith.
Common Take
High Consensus- The $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund and the scope of the IRS audit immunity provision are the central sticking points delaying the vote.
- Chairman Grassley postponed the committee vote because Blanche currently lacks sufficient Republican support to advance favorably.
- Blanche has stated publicly and under oath that the fund is dead and that audit immunity doesn't extend beyond the original settlement parties.
- Cornyn's staff and DOJ have been in direct negotiations for over a week, including an exchange of specific proposed language.
The Arguments
Left argues
A $1.776 billion fund and audit immunity provisions tied to Trump's personal IRS settlement create an obvious conflict of interest, since his own DOJ negotiated protections shielding him, his family, and their companies from tax enforcement on past filings.
Right counters
Blanche testified under oath that the fund is dead and that immunity doesn't extend beyond the original lawsuit parties or block future audits, so the substantive concern is already resolved even if it isn't yet in writing.
Right argues
Cornyn and Tillis' demand for written assurances is reasonable and low-cost: if DOJ truly agrees these are non-issues, formalizing that in the settlement language should be simple, and their refusal to do so is itself suspicious.
Left counters
The fact that DOJ has resisted putting these exact, pre-drafted assurances in writing despite being handed the language suggests an institutional reluctance to fully foreclose reviving the fund or narrowing immunity, which is precisely why written confirmation matters.
Right argues
Blanche has a strong record defending Trump against politically motivated prosecutions and has already redirected DOJ toward lower crime, cartel prosecutions, and away from Biden-era weaponization and DEI overreach, making him a well-qualified nominee being held hostage over a side issue.
Left counters
A nominee's competence on unrelated priorities doesn't erase the conflict-of-interest problem embedded in his own department's settlement with the president who appointed him, which goes to the core independence of the Justice Department.
Right argues
Critics argue Cornyn and Tillis, both facing the end of their political careers with no further elections to win, are exploiting this moment to obstruct a qualified nominee for personal or symbolic reasons rather than genuine taxpayer protection.
Left counters
Even if the senators' motives are mixed or self-serving, the underlying concern about presidential self-dealing in a DOJ settlement is legitimate on its own merits and doesn't depend on why the senators are raising it now.
Left argues
This episode shows how entangled DOJ independence has become with Trump's personal legal and financial interests, since a settlement benefiting the president personally is now holding up his own attorney general's confirmation.
Right counters
The confirmation delay itself demonstrates the opposite: independent-minded Republican senators are actively pushing back and demanding accountability, showing the checks-and-balances process is functioning rather than collapsing.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If Blanche has already testified under oath that the fund is dead and immunity doesn't extend beyond the original parties, what specific evidence suggests DOJ intends to act in bad faith rather than simply resisting an unusual demand to rewrite settlement language after the fact?”
Left asks Right
“If the written assurances Cornyn and Tillis are requesting are, as DOJ claims, already true and uncontroversial, why has the administration resisted putting them in writing for over a week rather than simply closing the matter?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Progressive commentators and outlets like MSNBC opinion hosts or accounts like @RonFilipkowski who frame this as proof of outright corruption and demand criminal investigation represent maybe 15-20% of the left, more extreme than the mainstream 'concerning conflict of interest' framing.
Right Fringe
The Federalist's framing (Cornyn and Tillis as engaging in a 'jihad' against Trump's voters out of personal spite) and Blaze/Breitbart's full-throated dismissal of any ethics concern represents a vocal 25-30% of the right; most Republican voters likely have milder, less conspiratorial views and may share some discomfort with the audit immunity provision.
Noise Assessment
High — much of the visible conflict is elite-level Senate maneuvering and Trump's Truth Social posts amplified by media, while rank-and-file public attention to this specific procedural story is likely low; actual opinion is more muted and less polarized than the loudest voices suggest.
Sources (15)
<p>Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) postponed a Thursday committee vote on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination, his office said Wednesday, after two Republican senators withheld support pending written assurances from the Justice Department on a fund tied to President Donald Trump's IRS settlement.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/29/john-cornyn-threatens-sink-todd-blanche-doj-trump-irs-fund/" rel="nofollow">John Cornyn Threatens to Sink Todd Blanche as DOJ Will Not Recind Trump IRS Fund</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
<p>Todd Blanche loves our country, just as he loves the Department of Justice. He has earned this promotion to be our next attorney general.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/29/exclusive-rep-jim-jordan-confirm-todd-blanche/" rel="nofollow">Exclusive—Rep. Jim Jordan: Confirm Todd Blanche</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
<img alt="Cornyn and Tillis at an event." class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" src="https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Cornyn-Tillis-1-1200x675.jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" />Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have a lot in common. Both are soon to be unemployed, and both have a serial hatred for the people who elected them to public office. That disdain has never been more apparent than it has throughout Todd Blanche’s Senate confirmation process to become America’s next attorney […]
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has not changed his mind on Todd Blanche, telling reporters Thursday morning that he was still leaning against advancing his nomination for attorney general in the Judiciary Committee. It comes amid a standoff between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), both of whom want assurances…
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) late Wednesday evening canceled a scheduled meeting to consider the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department amid opposition from some GOP senators on the panel. “Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn…
Thursday's committee vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to become attorney general has been postponed after the Justice Department failed to meet the demands of Republicans who want stronger assurances that President Trump's anti-weaponization fund is really dead.
Trump floated temporarily pulling Todd Blanche's nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice amid resistance from 2 Republican senators.
President Trump says he is willing to pull Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general. The news comes as two key Republicans are withholding their support over concerns about the Justice Department's deal with President Trump to end his IRS lawsuit. Trump said Thursday he was willing to end the nomination, but he was by no means conciliatory in his tone, saying he would keep Blanche on as acting attorney general and renominate him later. In addition, Trump took aim at the two Republican senators withholding their support — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whose support Blanche would need to advance in his nomination in committee.
<p>President <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a> said Thursday that he would have "no objection" to temporarily withdrawing acting Attorney General <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/15/todd-blanche-federal-agents-polling-places-voters-ice" target="_blank">Todd Blanche's</a> nomination until his Republican opponents are out of office next January.</p><p><strong>The big picture: </strong>Trump's threat, directed at GOP Sens. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/tillis-withholds-blanche-support-esptein" target="_blank">Thom Tillis</a> (N.C.) and <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/27/texas-primary-paxton-cornyn-takeaways" target="_blank">John Cornyn</a> (Texas), puts Blanche's critics on notice as to what the president deemed "the right thing" after their concerns stalled the acting attorney general's nomination.</p><hr /><ul><li>Cornyn <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2026/05/27/texas-senate-gop-cornyn-paxton" target="_blank">lost his primary </a>earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger, and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Tillis chose <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/29/thom-tillis-retire-senate-north-carolina" target="_blank">not to seek re-election</a>. </li></ul><p><strong>Driving the news: "</strong>Todd Blanche is a STAR," Trump wrote of his former personal attorney turned Justice Department loyalist.</p><ul><li>He added that Blanche would "remain, in any event, as Acting."</li><li>Cornyn had demanded a written guarantee that the administration's controversial $1.8 billion "<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/20/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-judgment-fund-explainer" target="_blank">anti-weaponization fund</a>" was dead. The fund was born out of a scrutinized settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS.</li></ul><p><strong>State of play: </strong>A "no" vote from Tillis or Cornyn, who both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, would prevent Blanche's nomination from advancing to a confirmation vote before the full Senate.</p><ul><li>On Wednesday night, the committee postponed a crucial vote on Blanche's nomination over the Republicans' steadfast opposition.</li></ul><p><strong>Reality check: </strong>Even if the president withdraws Blanche's name for confirmation, he would retain the vast power of the nation's chief law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, as he has since this spring.</p><p><strong>What they're saying: </strong>"POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/JohnCornyn/status/2082851774143021356?s=20" target="_blank">post</a> on X.</p><ul><li>During Blanche's confirmation hearing before a Senate panel earlier this month, Cornyn <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ulu8US4zgQ8" target="_blank">questioned</a> whether there had been a written agreement to modify the IRS settlement fund, which Blanche said was "just not moving forward."</li><li>Cornyn does have a point — GOP concerns over the head-turning settlement, which has <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/13/judge-trump-irs-settlement-anti-weaponization-fund" target="_blank">been lambasted</a> by a federal judge, have already derailed the party's <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/21/trump-weaponization-fund-senate-ice-funding" target="_blank">legislative goals</a>.</li><li>Bashed as a political slush fund that could benefit those convicted in the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/20/jan-6-officers-sue-trump-weaponization-fund" target="_self">Jan. 6</a> Capitol riot, the administration dropped the fund after a federal judge blocked the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/05/29/trump-anti-weaponization-fund-blocked" target="_blank">money's disbursement</a>. </li></ul><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with additional information.</em></p>
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/trump-blasts-cornyn-and-tillis-for-holding-ag-nomination-hostage.jpg?id=67558414&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C76" /><br /><br /><p>The president has threatened to pull the nomination for attorney general as Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina continue to demand guarantees that the "anti-weaponization fund" is dead.</p><p>President Donald Trump said on social media that he may pull Todd Blanche's nomination and then resubmit it after Cornyn's and Tillis' terms end in January.</p><p class="pull-quote">'POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.' </p><p>"Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time," the president <a href="https://x.com/theblaze/status/2082863692387901536" target="_blank">wrote</a> on Truth Social.</p><p>"However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting,” he added.</p><p>Tillis <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5999791-trump-blanche-nomination-cornyn-tillis/" target="_blank">responded</a> by noting that if Democrats are able to seize control of Congress in the midterms, it will be far harder to push Trump's nominations through.</p><p>"He's perfectly entitled to do that, he just needs to game out what the numbers look like in the next Congress versus a willing group of people who wants to confirm him now if they do nothing more than follow up on what we all thought was true, that [the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund] is inoperative," he said to a reporter.</p><p>Cornyn is demanding that the administration guarantee in writing that the fund is dead, as Blanche has already indicated when speaking to Congress.</p><p>"We are not moving forward with the fund. Period," Blanche <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/anti-weaponization-fund-not-moving-forward-blanche-says/71475545" target="_blank">said</a> during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in June.</p><p>Blanche's comment has been used by the administration to <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/doj-anti-weaponization-fund-lawsuit" target="_blank">deflect</a> demands for greater guarantees that it will not seek the fund, but judges and the two Republican senators say the promise needs to be in writing.</p><p>Cornyn reiterated the point <a href="https://x.com/johncornyn/status/2082851774143021356" target="_blank">on social media</a>.</p><p>"POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," he wrote.</p><p><strong>RELATED: </strong><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/newsom-tax-weaponization-trump-fund" target="_blank"><strong>Newsom signs 100% tax on any Californian who benefits from Trump 'slush fund'</strong></a></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube"> <span class="rm-shortcode" style="display: block; padding-top: 56.25%;"></span> </p><p>Tillis said he agrees with Cornyn on the issue.</p><p>"We were told that the policy was effectively moot and inoperative. This makes me wonder whether or not — not Blanche, I think he was being sincere — but somebody in the White House or somebody who advises the president isn't," the senator said.</p><p><em><em>Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. </em></em><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/newsletters/theblaze-articlelink" target="_self"><em>Sign up here</em></a><em><em>!</em></em></p>
President Trump said Todd Blanche will remain acting attorney general as a holdup on his nomination continues.
Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche's confirmation is on hold after some Republican senators refused to vote for him. President Trump suggested that he may press pause on the nomination. Nikole Killion has more details.
President Trump on Thursday threatened to temporarily pull Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general amid opposition from Republican Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. CBS News' Taurean Small has the details.
‘Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances ‘