Thursday’s committee vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to become attorney general has been postponed after the Justice Department failed to meet the demands of several Republicans who want stronger assurances that President Trump’s anti-weaponization fund is really dead.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley announced the decision Wednesday night.
If the vote had gone ahead it was looking likely that Mr. Blanche would not have been approved by the panel.
All Democrats are expected to oppose him, and two Republican committee members, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have been reluctant to back Mr. Blanche without more work on the fund, which The Justice Department had agreed to create as part of a settlement with Mr. Trump in his lawsuit against the IRS.
After intense criticism Mr. Blanche said the $1.776 billion fund was dead. But the two senators said they feared without changes to the settlement itself, Mr. Trump or other parties could later demand a court revive the idea.
DOJ has been negotiating with Mr. Cornyn’s staff for more than a week but Mr. Cornyn said Wednesday evening that the administration had yet to make any accommodations toward his request.
“They’ve stonewalled it,” he said. “They haven’t given me a reason.”
Mr. Grassley’s office, in a statement, said the chairman is still working to secure a successful vote — whenever that can happen.
“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,” the office said.
Mr. Blanche, who was confirmed as deputy attorney general last year, has been serving as acting attorney general since the ouster of Pam Bondi. He will remain in the acting role.
Mr. Blanche was on Capitol Hill meeting with senators on Wednesday. He was scheduled to meet with Mr. Cornyn, but the meeting was canceled because the Justice Department did not send the senator proposed settlement revisions as promised.
Mr. Tillis said he understands Mr. Cornyn’s frustration, but he has had a different experience working with Mr. Blanche and his team.
“I thought they’ve been very, very accessible since the hearing,” he said. “I want to make it very clear: I don’t have a beef with the DOJ or with Blanche. They’re trying to get it done, but they’ve still got to get it done.”
Asked whether the holdup was getting Mr. Trump’s agreement for revising the settlement, Mr. Tillis said the president was not the only party to the agreement.
“There’s a circle of people that have to go through the loop, and I get that,” he said, suggesting the markup could be postponed until Tuesday or sometime next week if it’s just about getting the various parties’ approval.
The settlement was reached in Mr. Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit after an IRS contractor leaked his secret tax information during his first term.
Mr. Trump agreed to drop his monetary demand in exchange for the government setting up the anti-weaponization fund, which would pay out “victims” of the Biden Justice Department.
Those who were charged with crimes stemming from the mob intrusion on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were considered prime candidates, though Mr. Blanche said the fund wasn’t limited to that.
The settlement also includes a grant of immunity for past tax malfeasance.
Mr. Blanche told Mr. Cornyn during his confirmation hearing that the audit protection only covers past tax returns and does not apply to anyone other than the parties to the lawsuit. Mr. Cornyn wants the settlement language to make that explicit.
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