Breaking: Todd Blanche Clears Major Senate Obstacle as GOP Holdouts Reverse Course

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s path to Senate confirmation appears considerably clearer after two Republican holdouts announced that their concerns had been addressed.

Blanche’s nomination had stalled over a Justice Department fund established to compensate Americans subjected to political persecution during the Biden administration.

Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation unless the department eliminated the initiative, known as the “anti-weaponization fund.”

Blanche ultimately yielded to their demand Sunday, publishing a document on X formally rescinding the Justice Department’s May order that created the fund.

The decision quickly won over Tillis, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, and Cornyn, who lost his Republican Senate primary to Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“From the outset, Senator @JohnCornyn and I were clear that we needed a written document addressing our concerns on the IRS audit agreement and the anti-weaponization fund that included constraining the scope of audit protection by limiting it to the parties of the Settlement Agreement and legally ending the anti-weaponization fund,” Tillis posted.

“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” Tillis wrote.

“Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share,” he wrote.

“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” he wrote.

Republicans hold a narrow 12-10 majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to USA Today. With Democrats expected to oppose Blanche unanimously, Cornyn and Tillis possessed enough leverage to prevent his nomination from advancing.

Committee leaders had already postponed a previous vote while negotiations continued and the two Republican senators pressed the Justice Department for written assurances.

A new committee vote is scheduled for Tuesday. If Blanche receives approval, his nomination will move to the full Senate for the final confirmation vote.

President Trump issued a pointed warning Sunday, declaring that he could pursue the fund through legislation if Cornyn and Tillis ultimately refused to support Blanche.

“If Senators Cornyn and Tillis … aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche … 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,” he wrote on Truth Social.

The reversal leaves Blanche positioned to overcome the most immediate Republican resistance to his nomination. It also exposes the political tension surrounding efforts to provide restitution to Americans who conservatives argue were unfairly targeted by a weaponized federal government under former President Joe Biden.