President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he could withdraw Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general until next year, as a standoff continued with two Republican senators who are demanding concessions from the administration before supporting Blanche.
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Sens. John Cornyn (Texas) and Thom Tillis (North Carolina) have called for changes, in writing, to the controversial deal the Justice Department struck earlier this year to resolve a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was forced to postpone a vote scheduled for Thursday after it became clear that Cornyn and Tillis were not prepared to vote for Blanche. Even one Republican “no” vote on the committee would be enough to sink the nomination.
In a social media post Thursday, Trump targeted Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom are leaving the Senate after this year.
“John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event,” as acting attorney general, Trump wrote.
He added: “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”
Cornyn responded with a post of his own, in which he said Trump “is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.”
A refusal by the Senate to confirm Blanche would be a notable political setback for Trump, marking a rare instance when the GOP-led chamber blocked something the president wanted. But even if Cornyn and Tillis’s concerns remain unaddressed, Blanche could remain acting attorney general for the foreseeable future.
Republicans enjoy a 12-10 advantage on the Judiciary Committee, including Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina, who recently replaced her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. A tie would prevent he nomination from advancing to the Senate floor.
Negotiations between the Justice Department and the two senators continued late into the night Wednesday, but there was no indication Thursday morning that a resolution was any closer.
A Justice Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details on the talks, said the department had sent a new proposal to Cornyn and Tillis late Wednesday.
“The Department has been in regular communication with Committee members for weeks, and we look forward to continuing to work productively with Senators to address any concerns,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.
But shortly afterward, Tillis told reporters on Capitol Hill that he and Cornyn remained unsatisfied. On Thursday morning, Cornyn described the negotiations as “kind of back to square one.”
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“I don’t know whether it’s the White House or somebody who works there or somebody who works for the president [who] is telling him, basically, ‘Don’t agree to those terms,’ ” the senator told MS NOW.
Cornyn and Tillis, in recent months, have increasingly demonstrated a willingness to buck the president as the expiration date on their Senate careers draws closer. Cornyn lost his bid for reelection in May, after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Tillis opted not to run reelection.
“I think they realize now that we’re serious,” Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday. “So they’d better get real, and there’s not much time left.”
At issue for both senators is the agreement the Justice Department announced in the spring to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his personal tax returns.
The deal, which was not approved by a court, would have created a nearly $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded pool of money to reward people who claim they were victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
The deal also extended unusual tax protections to Trump, his family and their businesses, shielding them from all past tax claims — a potentially lucrative benefit for a president who has repeatedly complained about burdensome IRS audits.
The agreement sparked an immediate backlash, with lawmakers from both parties raising concerns that money from the payout fund could end up in the hands of people who attacked police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Two weeks ago, the federal judge who oversaw Trump’s lawsuit denounced it as an improper attempt to “manipulate” the court process. She said it was not a legitimate legal dispute between two independent parties, given that both sides ultimately reported to Trump, but rather a pretext to come up with a questionable deal.
Blanche has since retreated from the planned payout fund, declaring in sworn congressional testimony that the Justice Department would not move forward with that proposal. But he has resisted calls to put that pledge in writing, while Trump has declined to disavow the fund and suggested he still would like to see something like it implemented at some point.
Cornyn and Tillis are also demanding changes to the provisions in the settlement regarding audits of Trump and his family. Cornyn, among other things, wants the administration to clarify in writing that those protections do not apply to the Trump family’s future actions.
The Justice Department has not responded to questions on the specific changes to the agreement that are at issue in the negotiations. Cornyn, speaking to MS NOW on Thursday morning, suggested that the sticking point remained the audit provisions in the deal.
“This is about making sure that even if you’re the president of the United States, you don’t get favorable terms from the government in the settlement of a lawsuit that ordinary citizens would not get — like protections from audits by the IRS into the foreseeable future,” Cornyn said. “This is about making sure that we maintain the integrity of our justice system and fairness for everybody involved.”
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