Cornyn, Tillis back Blanche for attorney general after deal on DOJ fund

GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina formally announced their support on Monday for Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general.

The news virtually assures Blanche’s confirmation to lead the Department of Justice on a permanent basis.

Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s bid to lead the Justice Department say they will vote to advance his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump

The fund was created as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the U.S. Justice Department, to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over allegedly mishandling his tax records

Trump had said as recently as last week that the $1.8 b. "anti-weaponization" fund was dead.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Blanche’s confirmation on Tuesday

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order late Sunday terminating President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion ''anti-weaponization fund'' to compensate his political allies, a move that follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who were blocking his nomination to become attorney general.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced he is formally rescinding an order creating an “anti-weaponization fund” that could have paid $1.8 billion to President Donald Trump’s allies, and further clarified the scope of the president’s sweeping immunity deal with the Internal Revenue Service.

Aug 2 - Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche rescinded an order that established the \"anti-weaponization\" fund, ahead of a key Senate committee vote on Tuesday, after Republican senators held up his nomination over concerns about the fund.

Acting US Attorney General Blanche rescinds 'anti-weaponization' fund before confirmation vote  Reuters

Blanche rescinds Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, removing hurdle from attorney general nominee’s confirmation  CNN

In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) discusses concerns over the Trump administration’s so-called “anti-weaponization” fund, the subject of the Senate holdup over Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general.

The president vowed to push for the payout fund if Senate Republicans fail to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, reigniting a dispute over the settlement.

Trump asserted in a Truth Social post that he would keep acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in his current role and press ahead on the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" if Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis refuse to back Blanche.

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to push forward with a fund to compensate his allies if two Republican holdouts will not support his nominee for attorney general, injecting fresh uncertainty into a Senate confirmation vote planned for next week and underscoring once more his interest in securing payouts f

Trump Threatens To Keep Todd Blanche As Acting Attorney General, Push Ahead Slush Fund  HuffPost

Trump's threat to push ahead on settlement fund injects new uncertainty into attorney general talks  AP News

Sen. Thom Tillis said Saturday morning that new comments by President Trump about his "anti-weaponization" fund mean that attorney general nominee Todd Blanche won't be confirmed by the Senate next week. Why it matters: Tillis's comment escalates the fight between the White House and holdout Senate Republicans over whe

Trump officials are urging the Senate to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general as Republican holdouts threaten to derail his nomination.

The president mocked Sen. John Cornyn for being an "angry person" after having lost a Texas Senate GOP primary race in May.

President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is holding up the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general because he is angry Trump endorsed Ken Paxton in Texas's Republican U.S. Senate primary.

President Trump said Friday that he doesn’t blame Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for blocking the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general because he’s doing it as retaliation for Trump supporting his GOP primary opponent. “This is being done by a senator, and I don’t really blame him to be honest with you. I endorse

President calls for former personal defense lawyer to be ‘immediately approved’ as attorney general Donald Trump has defended controversial plans for a $1.8bn slush fund even as they threaten to derail the nomination of his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche for US attorney general. Blanche “should be immediately appr

President Donald Trump on Friday argued in favor of the anti-weaponization fund that his administration previously said was dead, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) continues to hold up acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination over concerns about the fund. “Perhaps there has never been a group of people treated so bad