Cornyn says no ‘deal’ to pave way for Blanche confirmation

A Republican senator whose vote is needed to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general said that the two sides haven’t yet reached an agreement that would secure his support ahead of a key vote on the nomination Thursday.

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“Fake news alert: there is no ‘deal’ on Blanche nom,” John Cornyn of Texas posted on X Tuesday. “They know what they have to do.”

Cornyn and another Republican holdout, Senator Thom Tillis, want written changes to alter Trump’s settlement with the IRS over leaks of his tax information in 2019.

Cornyn later told reporters that he plans to meet with Blanche on Wednesday where he expects to receive a written commitment from the nominee addressing his demands. Tillis also said he has a tentative Wednesday meeting with Blanche. 

Cornyn’s warning comes amid an intense lobbying effort by the White House and the Justice Department to pave the way for Blanche to be confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate for a final vote. Chuck Grassley, the panel’s chairman, would not comment Tuesday when asked whether he would delay the vote. 

The Justice Department and the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Without the support of Cornyn and Tillis, who both serve on the panel, Blanche’s nomination won’t make it out of the committee, as all Democrats are expected to vote in opposition.

Blanche can continue to serve as acting attorney general if his nomination is stalled, but he may have to be re-nominated when the new Congress convenes in January. It’s also possible that legal challenges could be made to his decisions on the basis that he hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate to the position.

Cornyn said a delay in the planned vote on Thursday is “being discussed” but said he hopes it won’t be necessary, Politico reported Tuesday.

In particular, the senators are demanding a written guarantee to kill a proposed $1.8 billion fund to pay victims of alleged government “weaponization.” Blanche told lawmakers that the fund was dead during his confirmation hearing earlier this month, but that didn’t satisfy them. 

The Justice Department is proposing language that could be added to an appropriations bill that would block funding for the fund, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. However, Cornyn doesn’t believe that a legislative fix is acceptable, one of the people said.

Senators also want a written clarification that a provision in the settlement giving Trump, his family members and businesses immunity from past IRS audits wouldn’t apply to third parties.

Blanche told senators during his July 15 confirmation hearing he would work with them on making changes to the settlement.

“We just need for the documents to conform to what his testimony was at the hearing, where he said that the weaponization fund is dead, the immunity from future audits does not extend to people beyond the parties to the lawsuit, and he said that it wouldn’t extend to action by federal agencies other than the IRS,” Cornyn told reporters on Monday.

Cornyn said the language “will have to be in writing and signed by Todd Blanche.”