President Trump on Saturday issued a threat regarding his attorney general nomination, stating he would maintain Todd Blanche as acting attorney general and advance an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” if Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina refuse to support Blanche’s confirmation. The fund, established through a lawsuit settlement worth $1.8 billion, was designed to compensate individuals who claim mistreatment by the criminal justice system and included tax audit immunity for Trump and family members.
Blanche, a federal prosecutor who served on Trump’s legal defense team during multiple indictments, faced opposition from both senators regarding the settlement arrangement. Earlier in the week, Trump had announced the fund was “dead,” and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley rescheduled a confirmation vote for Tuesday, before the August recess. However, Trump’s Saturday statement appeared to reverse that position by conditioning the fund’s fate on whether the two senators would back Blanche.
Tillis, who is retiring, responded to Trump’s comments by stating on X that the president “clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks” through either establishing another fund or pushing Congress for legislation. He expressed regret that Blanche, whom he described as qualified, would not be confirmed due to this reversal. Both Cornyn and Tillis have requested written assurances that the fund’s tax audit immunity provision applies only retroactively to parties in the original litigation, with Cornyn noting potential implications for over 100 Trump Organization subsidiaries.
The Department of Justice has provided the senators with language stating that Blanche’s May 18 order establishing the fund is “rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between Trump and the two senators, both of whom lost reelection after Trump endorsed their primary opponents.
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