As the White House ratchets up the pressure to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the position permanently, the embattled nominee and Sen. John Cornyn, a key Republican holdout, met behind closed-doors on Thursday to discuss what it would take to win over the Texas Republican.
Cornyn and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina have said the Trump administration needs to put in writing that its so-called $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead — and to narrow the scope of an agreement between President Donald Trump and the IRS, brokered by the Department of Justice, to not audit the president, his family or his businesses.
But thus far, Trump and his administration have refused to meet their demands.
The standoff culminated Wednesday night when Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was forced to postpone a scheduled committee vote for Thursday on Blanche’s nomination.
On Thursday morning, the DOJ sent Cornyn new language on the audit immunity deal — but it wasn’t enough to win his vote.
Still, negotiations between the Republican holdouts and the DOJ are continuing, including Cornyn’s meeting privately Thursday with Blanche.
Punchbowl News reported that, following the meeting, Cornyn and Tillis were “very near a resolution” on Blanche’s nomination, citing a source familiar with the talks. But Cornyn left the Capitol on Thursday night without a deal — and the Senate won’t return until Tuesday.
That means the earliest senators could resolve the disagreement and advance Blanche’s nomination out of committee would be on Tuesday. And even then, it would take a number of procedural votes and a waiting period before a final Senate floor vote could be scheduled. Friday is the last day the Senate is scheduled to be in session before its August recess.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could hold senators back from their break to confirm Blanche, but that assumes a speedy resolution, and that Trump wants a resolution.
The president suggested Thursday that he might withdraw Blanche’s nomination until Cornyn and Tillis are out of office, as both are leaving the Senate in January when their terms end. (Cornyn lost his GOP primary to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by Trump, in May and Tillis announced in April that he would not run for re-election.)
Such a move would be risky, and it could backfire on Trump if Democrats win back the Senate or even eat into the GOP’s already slim majority.
Cornyn was quick to point out online that it’s not just him and Tillis who are concerned about the anti-weaponization fund or the IRS immunity deal.
“POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis,” Cornyn said in a social media post of his own.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told MS NOW earlier this week that she has similar reservations about the so-called anti-weaponization fund, as well as reservations about Trump’s immunity from IRS investigations.
Kevin Frey and Jack Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.
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