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President Donald Trump intensified his feud with two Republican senators Thursday after they blocked the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general, declaring he is prepared to keep Blanche in the acting role and wait until the lawmakers leave office before trying again.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump sharply criticized Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina for refusing to back Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where either senator’s opposition is enough to stall the nomination.
The president suggested he would rather leave Blanche in the acting position than compromise with the senators, both of whom will be departing the Senate in January.
“He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time,” Trump wrote of Blanche. “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.”
Trump added that Blanche would remain acting attorney general regardless of whether the Senate confirms him.
GOP senators refuse to budge
The confrontation stems from disagreements over a controversial Justice Department settlement agreement involving the Internal Revenue Service that Cornyn and Tillis say must be revised before they will support Blanche.
Their opposition forced Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to postpone a scheduled committee vote Thursday after it became clear Blanche lacked sufficient Republican support to advance.
Cornyn said negotiations with the Justice Department appeared close to resolution before breaking down.
“I thought we were very close to landing the plane last night,” Cornyn told reporters. “But wake up this morning, and sounds like there’s other people intervening.”
He also rejected Trump’s suggestion that only he and Tillis object to the agreement.
“POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis,” Cornyn said.
Asked whether Trump himself was now preventing an agreement, Cornyn replied, “That’s what it sounds like to me.”
The Texas senator said the administration remains unwilling to make changes he considers necessary and warned it was becoming increasingly unlikely the impasse would be resolved before the Senate begins its August recess next week.
“The administration and DOJ know where we stand, and they can decide whether they want this problem solved or not,” Cornyn said. “I don’t know whether they think they can wait us out or think we’ll cave.”
Tillis calls dispute easy to resolve
Tillis argued the White House could quickly end the standoff by formally stating in writing that an “anti-weaponization fund” included in the settlement agreement has been abandoned.
“The administration’s refusal to do so tells me somebody is telling the president that he wants to keep this vehicle in place,” Tillis said. “That is horrible policy and that is horrible politics.”
Blanche testified before the Judiciary Committee earlier this month that the proposed fund was effectively dead and that restrictions involving IRS audits of Trump would be limited.
Cornyn has insisted those assurances should be reflected in the written agreement before Blanche’s nomination moves forward.
White House negotiations continue
A Justice Department official familiar with the negotiations said department attorneys submitted revised language Wednesday night in an attempt to address concerns raised by Cornyn and Tillis, though Cornyn later said the latest proposal still fell short.
Before Trump’s announcement, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., expressed optimism that negotiations could still produce a breakthrough.
“I think they’re working on trying to get the questions answered so they can tee him up and move him soon, like probably next week,” Thune said.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also met with Thune on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as discussions continued, although neither side disclosed whether Blanche’s nomination was discussed.
With committee action delayed and Trump signaling he is willing to keep Blanche in the acting role indefinitely, the nomination now appears unlikely to advance before senators leave Washington for their five-week August recess.
