Trump Threatens To Pull Blanche Nomination Until Problematic GOP Senators Depart

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he might pull the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche until two Republicans blocking Blanche’s confirmation have departed the Senate.

Blanche would remain as acting attorney general, the president shared on Thursday morning, slamming Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) for refusing to vote for Blanche.

Cornyn and Tillis have expressed apprehensions about Blanche, saying they would not vote to confirm Trump’s DOJ appointee until their concerns have been addressed.

Two sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire on Thursday evening that the DOJ had submitted a written response to both senators that addressed their concerns. But Trump’s post on Thursday morning indicated the response had not been good enough — and that he’d figure out another way to circumvent the senators.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“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.”

The president described Blanche as a “star” with the “potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time.” Trump also criticized Cornyn and Tillis for refusing to vote for Blanche, saying he had destroyed their political careers.

Cornyn had threatened to derail Blanche’s nomination over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, a plan the DOJ said it had abandoned after pushback from lawmakers. On Wednesday, Cornyn told Punchbowl News that the DOJ’s written proposal did not satisfy his demands.

“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it,” Cornyn said, sharing that he had cancelled a scheduled meeting with Blanche.

After Clinton-appointed Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order on the Anti-Weaponization Fund on May 29, Justice Department officials ultimately complied and dropped the matter.

“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche testified at the time.

Trump tore into the Republicans who opposed the fund, telling the Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese from the Oval Office: “Well, Congress didn’t want it. You have to talk to Congress. The Republican senators, some of them, got very weak knees. They didn’t have the stomach for the fight.”