Trump Threatens to Pull Todd Blanche’s Attorney General Nomination as GOP Revolt Over IRS Settlement Deepens
President Trump said Thursday, July 30, that he may temporarily withdraw Todd Blanche’s nomination to be U.S. attorney general rather than give in to demands from two Senate Republicans — a standoff that has now stalled the confirmation of Trump’s own former personal lawyer just days before the Senate leaves for its August recess.
How We Got Here
Blanche has served as acting attorney general since April 2, 2026, when Trump fired predecessor Pam Bondi. Trump formally nominated Blanche for the permanent role on June 8, and the acting arrangement is significant because the Federal Vacancies Reform Act generally limits temporary leaders to 210 days in the role — meaning a formal nomination effectively allows Trump to keep Blanche in place longer while confirmation plays out.
Blanche appeared for his confirmation hearing on July 15. But the process hit a wall on July 29, when Senate GOP leaders were forced to postpone a Judiciary Committee vote to advance his nomination after Texas Sen. John Cornyn refused to back down in a weeks-long dispute with the administration.
What Cornyn and Tillis Actually Want
At the center of the standoff is the Department of Justice’s so-called “anti-weaponization fund.” The fund traces back to a lawsuit Trump filed against the federal government in January 2025 seeking $10 billion over the 2019 leak of his tax returns. That suit was settled in exchange for a $1.776 billion fund — which Blanche himself helped create — intended to compensate people who say they were targeted by government “weaponization.” During his confirmation hearing, Blanche declined to rule out using that fund to pay out claims from January 6 Capitol rioters who assaulted police officers, though he later told a House committee the fund was not moving forward.
Cornyn is now demanding written confirmation, in the settlement agreement itself, that the fund has been formally killed — something he says matches Blanche’s own verbal statements but hasn’t yet been put in writing. He has also pushed for changes to narrow the broader DOJ agreement that grants Trump and his family immunity from future IRS audits. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has echoed Cornyn’s concerns, though CBS News reported he’s sounded more optimistic that a resolution can be reached.
A Judiciary Committee spokesperson confirmed the nomination currently lacks the votes needed to advance out of committee, while a Justice Department spokesperson said the agency has been in regular contact with committee members and looks forward to continued talks.
Trump’s Threat — and the Politics Behind It
On Thursday, Trump suggested he’d be willing to pull Blanche’s nomination and simply keep him on as acting attorney general until Cornyn and Tillis leave office in January — rather than agree to their written demands. It’s a notable escalation, since it would sidestep the Senate entirely rather than negotiate a compromise.
The dispute has an added political layer with Cornyn specifically. He lost his Senate primary earlier this year to Trump-backed challenger and current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a defeat that Axios reported has coincided with Cornyn showing more willingness to break from the president. Both Cornyn and Tillis suggested Thursday that the real obstacle isn’t Blanche himself but pressure coming from elsewhere in the White House. Cornyn told reporters he believed he and Blanche could have worked out an agreement directly, but that Blanche appeared to be getting pushback from higher up in the administration.
Why the Clock Is Ticking
The timing adds pressure on both sides. The Senate is scheduled to begin its lengthy August recess at the end of this week and isn’t expected to return until mid-September, according to Axios. That leaves a narrow window for the Judiciary Committee to resolve the impasse before Blanche’s confirmation process goes dormant for roughly six weeks.
Either outcome — confirmation or continued acting status — leaves Blanche running the Justice Department in the near term, as NPR’s reporting noted; the practical question is really about the terms under which he keeps the job, not whether he keeps it.
FAQ
Why is Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination stalled? Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are withholding their votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee until the Justice Department provides written confirmation that its “anti-weaponization fund” — tied to a settlement of Trump’s own IRS lawsuit — will not move forward.
What is the “anti-weaponization fund”? It’s a $1.776 billion fund created as part of a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over the 2019 leak of his tax returns, intended to compensate people who say they were targeted by government “weaponization.” The settlement also gave Trump and his family immunity from future IRS audits.
Could Todd Blanche stay on as attorney general without being confirmed? Yes. As acting attorney general since April 2026, Blanche can continue running the Justice Department even if his nomination is withdrawn or stalls, though the Federal Vacancies Reform Act generally limits how long an acting official can serve without formal confirmation.
When does the Senate leave for recess? The Senate is scheduled to begin its August recess at the end of this week and is not expected to return until mid-September, leaving a narrow window to resolve the nomination before Congress leaves town.
Has Trump officially withdrawn the nomination? No. As of Thursday, the White House had not withdrawn Blanche’s nomination; Trump said he “may” do so temporarily if Cornyn and Tillis don’t drop their demands.
Conclusion
What started as a procedural committee vote has turned into a test of how far Senate Republicans are willing to go in publicly pressuring the Trump administration — and how the White House responds when its own party pushes back. With the August recess bearing down and no written agreement yet in hand, the standoff over Todd Blanche’s nomination is less about whether he’ll keep running the Justice Department and more about whether Trump is willing to let two GOP senators dictate terms to get there. Expect the next moves to come fast, either in the form of a written concession from the DOJ or a formal decision from the White House on withdrawing the nomination before lawmakers leave Washington.
Sources: CNN, NPR, Axios, CBS News, Al Jazeera, Yahoo News (reporting dated July 29-31, 2026).