Cornyn and Tillis endorse Blanche for attorney general after fund agreement

Washington — GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina formally announced their support on Monday for Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general after reaching a long-sought agreement to end the controversial “anti-weaponization” fund and clarify the scope of a sweeping deal for tax immunity.

“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” the Republican senators said in a joint statement. “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.”

The support from Cornyn and Tillis clears a significant hurdle for Blanche in his quest to lead the Justice Department. With their backing, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to advance his nomination for attorney general to the full Senate. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning.

Concerns from the two senators regarding the president’s settlement with the IRS in May threatened to derail Blanche’s confirmation in recent weeks. The Judiciary Committee had initially scheduled a vote to advance his nomination last Thursday, but the meeting was postponed amid the opposition.

A committee spokesperson said then that the proceeding would be delayed “as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee to favorably report Attorney General-nominee Todd Blanche, who is highly qualified for the job.”

Cornyn and Tillis, who are both leaving the Senate early next year, noted in their statement that they have been clear from the outset 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.” The pair expressed their gratitude to Blanche and his staff for their work to reach a resolution, and added that they “look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon.”

The $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was created as part of a settlement agreement Mr. Trump reached with the IRS to resolve a civil lawsuit he filed over the leak of his tax returns by a government contractor. The program would have allowed people who claimed they were victims of “weaponization” by the federal government to seek compensation.

Another provision of the deal granted Mr. Trump, his two older sons, the Trump Organization and affiliated entities sweeping immunity from audits of tax returns.

The terms sparked swift pushback from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who were concerned that people convicted for assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol could collect taxpayer-funded payments.

While Blanche told a House committee in June that the Justice Department was not moving forward with the “anti-weaponization” fund, his assertions failed to assuage senators’ concerns.

During his confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee last month, Cornyn pushed Blanche about the status of the fund and whether Mr. Trump himself had agreed in writing to kill it. The acting attorney general reiterated then that the program is “dead.”

Still, Cornyn and Tillis continued to negotiate with the Justice Department to address their concerns about the tax immunity and anti-weaponization program.

After Cornyn and Tillis’ opposition threatened to further stall Blanche’s confirmation, Mr. Trump delivered an ultimatum over the weekend, telling the GOP holdouts that if their blockade continued, he would keep Blanche on the job as acting attorney general and move to make the Justice Department fund a reality.

Tillis responded to the president’s threat on X on Saturday, saying despite the assurances from the administration, Mr. Trump “clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks.” The North Carolina Republican said it was “unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal,” while adding that he was hopeful the issue could be resolved by Tuesday’s committee meeting.  

A day later, Blanche announced an order rescinding the Justice Department’s fund. In addition to revoking his May directive creating the program, Blanche clarified that the tax immunity extends only to Mr. Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, and covers only tax returns that had already been filed. 

In his announcement, Blanche cited his meetings with members of the Judiciary Committee in recent weeks and efforts to address the senators’ concerns. 

“We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement,” Blanche said. “The Department always welcomes and appreciates productive engagement with all members of Congress.”

The written settlement reached with Mr. Trump and his lawyers has not been modified.