Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general clears critical hurdle
after deal with GOP holdouts
[August 05, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche cleared a
critical hurdle Tuesday in his bid to be confirmed to the post after
swaying Republican holdouts on a Senate committee to advance his
nomination for a floor vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines in support
of the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney,
who has aggressively pushed the Republican administration’s priorities
since taking over from Pam Bondi in April.
The vote followed a deal struck late Sunday between Blanche and two
Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North
Carolina — who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the
settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service
regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.
Cornyn and Tillis backed Blanche’s nomination after the Justice
Department confirmed in writing that it wasn’t moving forward with a
$1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were
prosecuted for political purposes, which the administration announced as
part of the settlement.
After days of negotiations, Blanche issued an order Sunday evening
confirming “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”
It was still unclear, though, if Republicans will have enough votes in
the full Senate to confirm Blanche. A vote could come by the end of the
week.
If all Democrats oppose him, Blanche can only afford to lose two
Republican votes if Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was
hospitalized after a fall, does not return before then.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who is in a tough
reelection race this year, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that
she would not support Blanche because he has taken actions that “eroded
the department's independence," including the creation of the settlement
fund.
At least two other Republican senators have not said if they will vote
to confirm Blanche — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Louisiana Sen. Bill
Cassidy, who lost reelection earlier this year when Trump endorsed one
of his primary opponents. Both declined comment when asked how they will
vote.
Democrats complain about the fund
Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump
administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney
general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently
bar it.
The order also doesn’t stop the administration from compensating Trump
allies — including people who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 —
through a previously established process that allows people to file
claims for damages if they believed they were wronged by the government.
The fund “can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of
Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general,”
said Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the committee.
Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed for clarification on a separate part
of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family
immunity from tax audits.
Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax
audit immunity agreement applies only to claims open at the time of the
settlement and does not protect Trump from examination of future tax
filings. It also makes clear that only the parties that brought the
lawsuit — Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization — are
covered by the tax agreement.
Cornyn said his reasons for backing Blanche go beyond the deal struck
Sunday, adding that he believes the Justice Department needs a
“stabilizing force" at the helm.
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., arrives for a hearing of the Senate
Finance Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
“The Department of Justice does not need a temporary, unconfirmed
nominee as our nation’s top law enforcement official. Trump needs
someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind," Cornyn
said.
Blanche's independence has been called into question
Blanche has faced intense scrutiny regarding his ability to maintain
independence from the White House, the Justice Department’s pursuit
of the president’s political foes and the agency’s handling of files
related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking
investigation.
But it was the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the
IRS that threatened to derail Blanche's nomination, forcing a delay
in the committee vote last week amid pressure from the two
Republican senators, who are not returning to Capitol Hill after
their terms end in January.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the committee, said
Tillis and Cornyn’s demands were “common sense.” Grassley said the
senators’ concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the IRS
settlement were shared by many other lawmakers, including himself.
“I’m grateful that they as well as Mr. Blanche and the White House
worked in good faith to solve them, formally rescinding the fund,
clarifying the scope of the release of claims has put this issue to
bed once and for all," Grassley said.
Trump’s lawsuit has been sharply criticized because of the highly
unusual way it was handled, with the president challenging an agency
overseen by the executive branch he leads. A judge last month
slammed the case as an improper exercise in self-dealing and
referred one of Trump’s attorneys who filed it for potential
disciplinary action.
Blanche was an important figure for Trump's defense
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and key member of Trump’s
defense team as the Republican battled four indictments, arrived at
the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was
elevated to acting attorney general following Bondi’s failure to
meet Trump’s demands to successfully prosecute his perceived
political opponents.
While Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent post,
he moved swiftly to accelerate investigations into Trump foes and
advance other White House priorities, drawing condemnation from
critics who say he has not shed his title as Trump’s personal
lawyer.
Shortly after Blanche took the top post, the Justice Department
moved to indict longtime Trump adversary James Comey, the former FBI
director, on charges of threatening the 47th president by posting a
social media photograph of seashells in the numerical arrangement of
“86 47.”
Comey’s lawyers have accused the Justice Department of misleading
judges, submitting documents containing false statements and
withholding key facts to bring what the defense described as a
politically motivated prosecution.
Blanche separately appointed Joseph diGenova, a former Justice
Department prosecutor from the Reagan administration, to oversee a
Florida-based investigation into whether former law enforcement and
intelligence officials conspired over the last decade to undermine
Trump.
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