Todd Blanche Nomination

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general to the full Senate, ending weeks of delay caused by a dispute among Republicans themselves.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can now schedule a confirmation vote for Blanche, acting attorney general since April.

The nomination had been stalled by two outgoing Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, who withheld support until Blanche rescinded an order creating a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which he did Sunday night.

Cornyn said he used his leverage to ensure the fund, created through a Justice Department settlement with the IRS, would not extend beyond the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit against the agency.

To expedite his confirmation as a permanent replacement to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded the Department of Justice’s May order establishing an “anti-weaponization fund.”

Blanche announced the rescinding of the May 18 order by publishing a signed memo to the social media site X late Sunday evening.

“Although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order,” the signed memo read.

Blanche wrote in his post that he’d reached this decision after having “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions.”

While Democrats always cultishly vote for every wacko and criminal a Dem president nominates, Republicans too often take delight in thwarting their party’s goals and defying their constituents. It is frankly disgusting that Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) demanded the DOJ give up on putting through the Anti-Weaponization Fund. First, the Democrats arrested, spied upon, and jailed thousands of Americans for political reasons. Then Senate Republicans ensured that the victims had no funds for obtaining redress and justice.

Cornyn—who, thank God, will be out of the Senate next year—could be engaging in these petty games just to give the finger to Donald Trump, as Trump endorsed Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP Senate primary. Cornyn lost to Paxton, who is much more hardcore MAGA.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled Thursday vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general after Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) indicated that they would vote against advancing the nomination out of committee.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced the decision late Wednesday night after a wild day of back-and-forth between the committee and the two dissenting senators.

“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement. Tomorrow’s markup is postponed as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee to favorably report Attorney General-nominee Todd Blanche, who is highly qualified for the job,” a spokesman for Grassley’s office said in a statement.

Both Tillis and Cornyn have for weeks raised concerns related to a settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and Trump stemming from a lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service.

As part of the settlement, the Justice Department established a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund intended to compensate individuals who were subje