Blanche's Attorney General Nomination Advances Amidst 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund Controversy
Senate Judiciary Committee approves nominee after concessions on $1.8 billion fund and Trump tax audit settlement.
Carla Rooney
Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general advanced along party lines.
Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn threatened to vote against Blanche's nomination; their 'yes' votes hinged on a written agreement from the Department of Justice to limit Donald Trump's sweeping tax audit settlement and to terminate a controversial 'anti-weaponization' fund.
Blanche subsequently posted a signed order rescinding the 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'; this action confirmed in writing that a planned $1.8 billion slush fund for Donald Trump’s allies was dead.
The opposition from Tillis and Cornyn directly related to this fund, which intended to allocate $1.8 billion to victims of 'lawfare' under previous administrations. Republicans in the House and Senate previously complained about the fund, though Jim Jordan supports it.
Blanche also issued a statement clarifying the scope of a deal that granted Donald Trump, his family, and businesses immunity from existing IRS investigations. This lawsuit followed the leak of the US president’s confidential tax records by a former IRS contractor.
Beyond the legal debate, Blanche vowed to use the DoJ to crack down on blue states employing shield laws to permit mail-order abortion drugs to cross state lines. Senator Cory Booker expressed strong opposition to the concessions, stating, "This is ridiculous! We got nothing! No guarantees whatsoever that this slush fund can’t go forward."
Booker further exclaimed, "Dear God, folks." Blanche’s nomination is now expected to pass the full Senate by a narrow margin, though Senator Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized, narrowing the margins for confirmation.
Dear God, folks.
Whether this will occur before the Senate leaves for the August recess at the end of the week remains uncertain. Democrats and some political analysts remain highly skeptical that the agreement is ironclad and would prevent the administration from establishing the fund through another order.
Lawmakers in the Senate are hinging their hopes on the notion that Trump and his allies will not be able to fund their plans to reward allies without Congress passing money for it, which is considered highly unlikely.