President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department cleared a major obstacle Tuesday, but the fight to make Todd Blanche the permanent attorney general is not over yet.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12–10 along party lines to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate, ending days of uncertainty over whether two Republican holdouts would allow him to escape the committee.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) ultimately backed Blanche after the acting attorney general issued written orders addressing their concerns about a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and the scope of an IRS settlement involving Trump, his family and the Trump Organization.
The deal gave Trump’s nominee the votes he needed Tuesday. Whether it gives him enough support to win confirmation on the Senate floor remains an open question.
Blanche formally rescinded the order establishing the $1.776 billion fund, which had been created as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax information. The proposed program was intended to compensate people who said they had been politically targeted by the federal government.
A separate order clarified that protections from IRS audits apply only to the plaintiffs covered by the settlement and only to tax returns from previous years—not future filings.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement Monday.
The senators said the Justice Department had also issued a binding clarification addressing concerns about the reach of the audit provisions. They thanked Blanche and his staff for working with them and pledged to advance his nomination.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) praised the agreement before Tuesday’s vote, saying the concerns raised by Cornyn and Tillis were shared by other lawmakers.
“Formally rescinding the Anti-Weaponization Fund and clarifying the scope of the release of claims has put this issue to bed once and for all,” Grassley said in his opening statement. He also credited Blanche and the White House with working in good faith to resolve the dispute.
Grassley argued that the Justice Department had “thrived” under Blanche’s leadership and framed Tuesday’s vote as one centered on public safety.
The White House has publicly campaigned for Blanche, highlighting endorsements from law enforcement organizations, state attorneys general and former Justice Department officials. In a July release, the administration described him as a veteran prosecutor and defense attorney who has targeted cartels, violent crime and fraud while rebuilding cooperation with state and local law enforcement.
Trump has also repeatedly demanded Blanche’s confirmation, although his own comments have raised questions about how durable the compromise with Cornyn and Tillis will be.
At a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump acknowledged that the fund was “dead” but said he wished it were not.
“I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused,” Trump said, adding that he wanted to see them “compensated for the pain.”
Trump nevertheless insisted Blanche “should be approved forthwith.”
The president escalated the pressure Saturday, warning on Truth Social that if Cornyn and Tillis continued blocking Blanche, he would keep him in the acting role and push Congress to revive the fund through legislation.
After Blanche formally rescinded the program Sunday, Trump told reporters Monday that he had not personally approved the move.
“I didn’t look at it. All I know is that Todd Blanche is great. He’s going to do a great job,” Trump said during an Oval Office event, according to ABC News.
The president continued to defend the idea of compensating people he believes were mistreated by the government, though he said he was not aware of another avenue for doing so.
Democrats argue the written orders do not change the underlying IRS settlement and warn that the fund could be revived later. Some Republicans have also acknowledged that Trump could reverse course, although Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told Fox News Digital that he still expects Blanche to be confirmed.
The immediate challenge is the Senate math.
With Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) away from Washington while recovering from a fall, Blanche can afford to lose only two Republican votes if Democrats remain united against him. Fox News reported that Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Curtis (R-Utah) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) had not yet committed to supporting the nomination.
Murkowski told reporters that she wanted to learn more about the weekend negotiations, although she called Blanche’s order disbanding the fund “a pretty good step.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he wants to find a path to confirm Blanche quickly, but he stopped short of guaranteeing a vote before senators leave Washington for their August recess.
For Blanche and the White House, Tuesday’s committee vote was a significant victory.
