President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would maintain his chosen official as acting attorney general and move forward with a contentious compensation scheme if two Republican senators do not provide the votes needed for confirmation, injecting fresh uncertainty into a Senate vote scheduled for next week.
Blanche nomination and the settlement at the centre
In a post on his social platform, Mr Trump indicated he would keep Todd Blanche in the acting role and press ahead with what he called an “Anti‑Weaponization Fund” unless Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina back the nominee. Both senators have expressed concerns about Blanche’s selection, pointing to a prior lawsuit settlement that established a fund worth $1.8 billion to compensate people who feel they were mistreated by the criminal justice system.
"If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn't Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren't going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A."
The settlement in question also drew scrutiny because it provided tax audit immunity to Mr Trump and family members, an element that has fuelled objections from some Republican senators.
Senate timetable and negotiations
The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, rescheduled a committee vote on Blanche for Tuesday after an earlier postponement. A committee spokesperson said the chairman wants to see the nominee confirmed before the Senate rises for the August recess and that adding the vote to the calendar was intended to allow more time for the White House to shore up support.
But Mr Trump’s comment on Saturday — which appeared to revive the fund after he had declared it "dead" on Friday — threatened to unsettle those efforts. The White House needs the support of Cornyn and Tillis to secure confirmation; both men are due to leave the Senate when their terms expire in January.
- Todd Blanche — acting attorney general and former federal prosecutor who served on Mr Trump’s defence team.
- John Cornyn and Thom Tillis — Republican senators whose backing is pivotal to the confirmation.
- Chuck Grassley — Judiciary Committee chair who has put a vote on the calendar for Tuesday.
Implications and stakes
The dispute highlights two intertwined political calculations. First, it underscores the leverage a sitting president can exert over individual senators by dangling policy concessions or legacy projects. Second, it places a high‑profile nomination at the mercy of a controversy tied to criminal justice reform and perceived exemptions for the president and his family.
For Senate Republicans, the choice is tactical as well as substantive. A confirmation would place a loyal legal figure at the helm of the Justice Department, while opposition — or even a public standoff — risks portraying the party as divided ahead of an extended recess. For the White House, the ability to deliver votes will determine whether the nomination proceeds on schedule or is further delayed.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Settlement fund | $1.8 billion |
| Committee vote | Rescheduled for Tuesday by Sen. Grassley |
| Key holdouts | Sen. John Cornyn; Sen. Thom Tillis |
As negotiations continued into Friday night, the chairman’s move to schedule a committee vote suggested a desire to resolve the matter before senators depart for the August recess. By Saturday, however, the president’s renewed reference to the fund made the path to confirmation less certain.
The coming days will determine whether Mr Blanche secures the necessary backing or whether the dispute over the settlement fund further complicates the administration’s efforts to place a long‑term attorney general in charge of the Justice Department.
