Todd Blanche Makes Move To Secure Votes From Two GOP Holdouts

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche officially rescinded a proposed $1.8 billion fund intended to compensate the targets of government weaponization opposed by some Republican senators. 

Blanche issued a document on Sunday stipulating that the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created in May 2026 is “rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” The decision could pave the way for his confirmation as permanent head of the Justice Department after multiple Republican senators said they would not support his nomination until the fund was discontinued.

“My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions,” Blanche said. “We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement. The Department always welcomes and appreciates productive engagement with all members of Congress.”

Outgoing Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have stood in the way of Blanche’s confirmation, saying they will not vote to advance him until the fund is “dead.” Blanche previously told the senators there was no plan to move forward with the fund. 

Both Cornyn and Tillis increasingly feuded with President Donald Trump after the president signaled that he did want them back in the Senate for another term. Tillis decided not to run for re-election after Trump declined to endorse him, and the president endorsed Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP primary. The pair sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is set to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday.

“Todd Blanche is a very, very good man, and he shouldn’t be in the middle of this. He should get approved because you will never get anybody like him,” Trump said last week. “And to make him a pawn in this whole thing … this is being done by a senator [Cornyn], and I don’t really blame him to be honest with you. … The man that lost, the man that I didn’t endorse has become very angry, and that’s okay.”

Trump floated the idea last week of yanking Blanche’s nomination until Cornyn and Tillis are out of office. 

“Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.” 

Over the weekend, Trump said that if Blanche was not confirmed, he would continue to “push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration.”

Responding to Trump’s post, Tillis said that the president “clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against.”

Tillis said he considered Blanche “qualified for the job” but would not vote to move him forward over the weaponization fund.