Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice faced fresh uncertainty after Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he still has “some concerns” following Blanche’s Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, July 15. During the hearing, Cornyn pressed President Donald Trump’s attorney general pick over the administration’s controversial “anti-weaponization fund” and a settlement agreement he believes could still carry legal consequences. With Republicans holding only a narrow majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Cornyn’s vote is pivotal to Blanche’s confirmation.
‘I continue to have some concerns’
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Cornyn made it clear he had not made up his mind about Blanche. “I continue to have some concerns, but I’m not going to make any decisions at this point,” the Texas Republican said. “I’m going to wait until we actually vote on a confirmation.”
Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and state Supreme Court justice, added that he felt no pressure from the White House or Republican leadership. “I don’t have to make a decision until the vote is called, so I’m not ready to make the decision now,” he said. “I feel no pressure.”
Questions over lawsuit settlement and ‘anti-weaponization fund’
Much of Cornyn’s questioning during the hearing centered on Blanche’s role in approving a May settlement that permanently barred the IRS from auditing Trump’s previous tax returns and those of his family and businesses. The settlement followed the Justice Department’s decision to voluntarily dismiss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. The settlement also created a controversial $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” intended to compensate people claiming they have been targeted by the government. Although the Trump administration later abandoned the fund after bipartisan criticism, a federal judge ruled on Monday, July 13, that the underlying lawsuit amounted to collusion.
When Cornyn asked whether Trump could revive the anti-weaponization fund through litigation, Blanche replied, “I suppose they could bring a lawsuit, and then we would litigate it. But even if we were litigating it, there’s no fund. So the results of such litigation, whatever it would be, wouldn’t be a revival of the fund.”
John Cornyn remains unconvinced
Cornyn said Blanche’s testimony failed to resolve his concerns. “I mean, the argument was that the anti-weaponization fund is dead, and what he confirmed was that it’s not,” he said. “The settlement agreement can’t be changed without written consent of the parties. There is no such written consent of the parties, and he admitted that it could be enforced as a matter of contract.”
“These settlement agreements are contracts, and so he can’t just say, ‘Well, it’s gone away,’ because the parties, notably President Trump … could bring a lawsuit to enforce it. And [Blanche] said, ‘Yeah, that’s right,’” Cornyn recalled.
“Part of what I wanted to do is make sure that we understood what the lay of the land was with regard to the weaponization fund — and it’s not dead. It could be revived,” Cornyn said in a separate statement.
John Cornyn remains a pivotal vote for Todd Blanche’s confirmation
Outgoing Senators Cornyn and Thom Tillis are widely viewed as the key Republican swing votes for Blanche’s conformation. Tillis, who is leaving the Senate after clashing with the president over certain policy matters, stopped short of pledging his support but said Blanche had done “a good job” and suggested lawmakers could pass a measure declaring the anti-weaponization fund “legally moot.”
However, Cornyn’s skepticism of Blanche came after he lost his Republican primary in May to a Trump-backed challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, leading many political commentators to speculate he intends to make things difficult for Trump on his way out the door. Notably, Cornyn is among a handful of GOP senators who have occasionally broken with the Trump administration.
Blanche’s confirmation already faces a tight path after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham reduced Republicans to a narrow 11-10 majority on the Judiciary Committee. Reports have pointed out that if Democrats oppose Blanche as a bloc, a single Republican “no” could derail Blanche’s confirmation before it reaches the Senate floor. When asked whether the White House would lobby to ensure Cornyn’s vote, a spokesperson pointed instead to Trump’s Truth Social message urging “Every Republican Senator …to CONFIRM Todd Blanche, ASAP!”
Senate Republican leaders hope to hold a floor vote during the first week of August before lawmakers leave for a month-long recess, leaving Cornyn’s decision under close watch.