Todd Blanche, President Trump's nominee for Attorney General, cleared a significant hurdle as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination. This vote sends Blanche's confirmation to the full Senate, where a simple majority is needed for his appointment. The advancement followed a critical agreement between Blanche and Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Cornyn and Tillis had initially threatened to block Blanche's confirmation due to concerns over two key issues: a proposed $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and a sweeping deal granting President Trump immunity from certain tax audits. The fund was intended to compensate victims of alleged government "weaponization" as part of a settlement in Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department over leaked tax information. The immunity provision covered potential audits of past tax returns and applied to Mr. Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization.
To secure the support of Cornyn and Tillis, Blanche issued an order on Sunday evening formally rescinding the $1.8 billion fund. He also clarified that the tax immunity deal pertained only to potential audits of previous years' tax returns for Mr. Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization, and that the order establishing the fund was without force or effect. This concession swayed the Republican holdouts, who subsequently announced their support for his nomination.
Despite this, not all Republicans are aligned. Senator Susan Collins of Maine has publicly stated her intention to vote against Blanche, citing his handling of the "weaponization" fund and the immunity deal as making the Justice Department "increasingly political." Assuming all Democrats oppose Blanche, he can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes, or two if Vice President JD Vance is required to cast a tie-breaking vote.
