The Senate judiciary committee has scheduled a meeting early next week to consider Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, as Donald Trump promised to revive the controversial $1.8bn "anti-weaponization" fund.
The meeting, set for Tuesday, comes as Blanche's confirmation has stalled over a dispute between the president and outgoing Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who are seeking written confirmation that the justice department would not establish the proposed fund.
A committee spokesperson said Chuck Grassley, the chair and Iowa Republican, "wants Todd Blanche's nomination to be successful" and would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess, citing his "excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe."
What is the anti-weaponization fund?
Opponents regard the fund as a slush fund to compensate political allies for political lawfare; supporters say it would compensate individuals who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the government more broadly.
The fund was crafted as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the justice department to resolve his $10bn lawsuit against the IRS over allegedly mishandling his tax records.
Trump's reversal
On Friday, during a cabinet meeting, Trump said: "It is dead, but I wish it weren't, to be honest with you. I think people were horribly treated, horribly abused." He added: "I'd like to see them compensated for the pain."
At the same meeting, Trump urged Republican senators to confirm Blanche and warned they "will never get anybody like him." He repeated a claim that Cornyn was blocking Blanche because Trump had endorsed Cornyn's Republican primary challenger Ken Paxton. "I'd be upset also," Trump said. "I fully understand it. He shouldn't be that way. I shouldn't be that way."
On Saturday, Trump slammed Cornyn and Tillis in a post on Truth Social, claiming both were upset because he had not endorsed them. He threatened to withdraw Blanche's nomination, keep him on as acting attorney general and "push hard" for an anti-weaponization bill. "Todd Blanche was a voice of reason!" Trump wrote. "It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done."
Blanche and Senate opposition
Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, has told senators the fund was dead but has so far declined to put that in writing. Trump wrote that the fund "will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed."
Tillis has said those who attacked law enforcement during the 6 January 2021 riots should still be in prison and should not receive a check from the federal government. Cornyn and Tillis also object to an IRS deal that would prevent tax audits of Trump and his associates.
Responding on Saturday, Tillis said that despite Trump's comments that the fund is dead, the president "clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against." He said it was "unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal," adding: "Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday."
Uncertain path to confirmation
The back-and-forth over Blanche's nomination, which is vigorously opposed by victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of investigative files related to the late sex trafficker, now likely lies with backroom negotiations over the weekend. The same controversy dogged Trump's original second-term attorney general, Pam Bondi, before she resigned.
Cornyn and Tillis were reported to be close to backing Blanche as recently as Thursday. But with just more than two years left in Trump's second term, Blanche may not need formal Senate confirmation to serve so long as his nomination is pending and not formally rejected or withdrawn.
