Todd Blanche’s nomination for U.S. attorney general faced severe jeopardy Wednesday as key Republican senator John Cornyn cancelled a scheduled meeting and demanded the Justice Department provide written assurances that a controversial tax immunity and anti-weaponization settlement with President Donald Trump has been formally abandoned.
The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled a crucial vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since Pam Bondi’s firing in April. That timeline hung by a thread Wednesday after GOP Sen. John Cornyn called off a planned morning meeting with the nominee. Cornyn, a critical swing vote on the committee, told reporters that the Justice Department had failed to address his written concerns regarding a multi-billion-dollar legal settlement.
The $10 Billion IRS Settlement and the Anti-Weaponization Fund
At the center of the legislative standoff is the resolution of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service stemming from the 2019 leak of his tax returns. Spearheaded by the Justice Department, the agreement involved a $10 billion lawsuit and established a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund designed to compensate individuals who believed they were wronged by the Justice Department.
Although the Justice Department canceled plans for the fund earlier in the summer amid intense bipartisan pushback—with some lawmakers objecting that the money could benefit people who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot—concerns remained. A federal judge tossed the broader settlement, but lawmakers pointed out that the original agreement operated as a binding contract.
Cornyn Interrogates Blanche on Contractual Enforcement
During confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cornyn drew an admission from the nominee regarding the legal durability of the deal. Blanche initially described the fund as dead, but acknowledged under questioning that it could still be enforced because the settlement required written modification by all parties to change its terms.
“I was pointing out that the weaponization fund, which people were concerned about, is not really dead. He says it is, but he admitted that it could be enforced because this is, essentially, a contract, and it hadn’t been modified by the parties in writing, which is required to change the settlement agreement.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, via Houston Public Media
Blanche subsequently wrote an addendum to his earlier memorandum addressing the fund, according to University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias. Yet Cornyn insisted that the Justice Department refused to provide the formal written retraction necessary to put the matter to rest.
Audits, Immunity, and the Committee Math
Beyond the disputed fund, the settlement included provisions that barred the government from probing the past tax information of Trump, his family members, or his companies. While Blanche argued that the audit immunity provision covered only existing audits and represented standard practice for similar agreements, lawmakers questioned the breadth of the protection.
The political math on the Senate Judiciary Committee leaves virtually no margin for error. Following the death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republicans hold a razor-thin one-vote majority on the panel. With North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis expressing similar reservations about the settlement—though remaining more open to supporting the nominee—Cornyn’s refusal to back Blanche threatens to deadlock the committee.
What Happens If the Committee Deadlocks
A tied vote in the Judiciary Committee would halt the normal pathway to the floor. According to legal analysts, moving the nomination out of a deadlocked committee would require a discharge petition and a majority vote on the full Senate floor.
Cornyn, whose term in the Senate enters its final months after he lost his Republican primary runoff in May to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton following an intervention by Trump, made his position clear as the deadline approached. A person familiar with the matter reported that the Justice Department delivered a late written proposal to Cornyn’s office in an eleventh-hour bid to satisfy his demands.
“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it.”
Sen. John Cornyn, via Associated Press
Whether that proposal will be enough to salvage Thursday’s scheduled vote remains uncertain as Capitol Hill awaits word from the senator’s office.
