President Trump and Todd Blanche appear together at White House podium.Trump Threatens to Pull AG Pick Over GOP Senators' IRS Deal Demands
Intra-Party Split Detected
Republican Sens. Cornyn and Tillis are withholding support for Trump's AG nominee Blanche over concerns about an IRS settlement and 'anti-weaponization fund,' breaking from Trump and most GOP colleagues who back the nomination; Trump has attacked them publicly, framing Cornyn's opposition as personal retaliation for his primary endorsement of Ken Paxton.
Left says
- •The IRS settlement grants Trump and his family blanket audit immunity while creating a $1.8 billion fund that could compensate Jan. 6 rioters, raising serious conflict-of-interest and self-dealing concerns.
- •Trump's willingness to blow up his own nominee's confirmation to protect a personal tax settlement shows the deal was designed to benefit him personally, not the 'patriots' he claims were mistreated.
- •A federal judge already criticized the settlement, and the administration's refusal to put its abandonment of the weaponization fund in writing suggests it may try to revive the scheme later.
- •Trump's plan to wait out Cornyn and Tillis until they leave office next January is an attempt to bypass legitimate Senate oversight rather than address the senators' substantive concerns.
Right says
- •Trump strongly believes Blanche is highly qualified and that Jan. 6 defendants and other 'patriots' were unfairly persecuted by the Biden DOJ, justifying some form of compensation fund.
- •Cornyn's opposition looks politically motivated, given he supported Blanche and had no objection to the fund until Trump endorsed his primary opponent Ken Paxton, who went on to defeat him.
- •Trump is simply exercising his executive prerogative to protect a loyal nominee from what he sees as a personal grudge match rather than a genuine policy dispute.
- •Blanche has already stated the anti-weaponization fund is not moving forward, and Trump's team argues the audit immunity issue can be resolved without derailing a qualified nominee.
Common Take
High Consensus- Blanche's nomination has stalled because Cornyn and Tillis, both on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are withholding support pending written assurances on the IRS settlement.
- The $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund tied to the settlement was already scrapped in June after bipartisan backlash.
- Trump has said he would keep Blanche on as acting attorney general regardless of the nomination outcome, preserving his authority in the role.
- Cornyn recently lost his Texas primary to Trump-backed Ken Paxton, and Tillis is not seeking re-election, meaning both leave office in January.
The Arguments
Left argues
The IRS settlement gives Trump and his family blanket audit immunity while creating a $1.8 billion fund that could compensate Jan. 6 defendants, and Trump's willingness to sacrifice his own AG nominee to protect this deal reveals its self-serving nature.
Right counters
Trump has said the fund 'will not benefit me' but rather compensates 'patriots' who were unfairly targeted by the Biden DOJ, and the audit immunity issue is a narrow legal question that shouldn't sink a highly qualified nominee like Blanche.
Right argues
Cornyn's sudden opposition to a fund he previously had no objection to, arising only after Trump endorsed his primary opponent Paxton who then defeated him, strongly suggests personal grievance rather than principled policy concern is driving his obstruction.
Left counters
Even if Cornyn's motives are partly personal, his substantive point stands unrebutted: the administration has refused to put the fund's death in writing and won't narrow the audit immunity, which are legitimate oversight concerns regardless of who raises them.
Left argues
A federal judge already blocked the fund's disbursement and criticized the settlement, and the administration's refusal to formalize its abandonment in writing suggests officials want to preserve the option of reviving it later.
Right counters
Blanche has publicly and repeatedly stated under oath that the fund 'is just not moving forward,' and demanding endless additional written guarantees beyond that assurance risks holding a qualified nominee hostage indefinitely.
Right argues
Trump is exercising legitimate executive prerogative by threatening to temporarily withdraw and later resubmit Blanche's nomination, since Cornyn and Tillis are both leaving office in January and the president has every right to wait for a more favorable Senate.
Left counters
Deliberately running out the clock on two sitting senators to bypass their oversight role subverts the constitutional advice-and-consent process rather than addressing the substantive concerns those senators have raised about self-dealing.
Left argues
Trump's own comments that the fund 'is dead, but I wish it weren't' and that he still believes the 'patriots' deserve compensation undermine his administration's assurances and validate Cornyn and Tillis's skepticism that the scheme could return.
Right counters
Trump expressing personal sympathy for how Jan. 6 defendants were treated is not the same as reviving the fund, and conflating his rhetoric with actual policy ignores that the DOJ has formally confirmed the fund is not moving forward.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If the left's main objection is a conflict of interest in Trump personally benefiting from audit immunity, why does the left's narrative focus so heavily on the now-dead weaponization fund rather than proposing what a narrower, acceptable audit immunity provision would look like?”
Left asks Right
“If Cornyn's opposition is dismissed as merely personal payback for the Paxton endorsement, why does the right's own reporting acknowledge that Cornyn's substantive demand—getting the fund's death and audit immunity scope in writing—has never actually been met by the administration?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Progressive commentators like those at HuffPost and some Vox writers frame this as blatant corruption/slush-fund scandal requiring impeachment-level outrage, a more extreme framing than most Democrats who simply see it as typical Trump self-dealing; this represents maybe 20-25% of the left.
Right Fringe
Pro-Trump commentators like Breitbart writers and some Truth Social loyalists fully endorse the Jan. 6 'weaponization' compensation framing as justified restitution, a more extreme position than most Republicans who are uncomfortable with the optics but stay quiet; this represents roughly 25-30% of the right.
Noise Assessment
High noise ratio — this is largely an insider Beltway story about a Senate procedural fight and nomination politics; most Americans have not closely followed the specifics of the IRS settlement or weaponization fund, so actual public opinion is softer and less polarized than the intense partisan media coverage suggests.
Sources (19)
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><strong>Go deeper:</strong> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/30/todd-blanche-nomination-issues-trump" target="_blank">The major controversies stalling Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination</a></p><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with additional information.</em></p>
<p>President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is holding up the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general because he is angry Trump endorsed Ken Paxton in Texas's Republican U.S. Senate primary.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/31/trump-cornyn-making-blanche-pawn-because-hes-angry-over-paxton-endorsement/" rel="nofollow">Trump: Cornyn Making Blanche ‘Pawn’ Because He’s Angry over Paxton Endorsement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.breitbart.com" rel="nofollow">Breitbart</a>.</p>
Trump accuses Sen. John Cornyn of blocking Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation over the anti-weaponization fund and audit immunity disputes.
“I guess the president’s going to have to decide what the split looks like,” GOP Sen. Thom Tillis said of Trump vowing to force Todd Blanche through next year.
Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general stalled as lawmakers scrapped a planned committee vote.
<p>Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who leave office in January, want assurances over an IRS settlement regarding Trump.</p> The post <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/07/trump-might-temporarily-pull-blanches-ag-nomination-until-cornyn-tillis-leave/">Trump Might Temporarily Pull Blanche’s AG Nomination Until Cornyn, Tillis Leave</a> first appeared on <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com">Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion</a>.
Republicans Thom Tillis and John Cornyn have been holding up Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, seeking assurances the controversial fund is dead.
Todd Blanche’s approach has collided with the jury-of-two reality in the Senate that has, thus far, kept him from the prize he covets: the stability and status conferred by a Senate confirmation.
The president’s comments threw the confirmation of Todd Blanche, his pick to be attorney general, further into doubt.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis have effectively stalled Blanche's nomination, and could prevent his confirmation until September - if he gets confirmed at all.
Plus: Russia launches deadly attacks across Ukraine, U.S. economic growth slows, and no robot dogs on flights.
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