Texas – Texas Sen. John Cornyn publicly pushed back against President Donald Trump after the president criticized him and Sen. Thom Tillis over their opposition to Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche, arguing that concerns surrounding Blanche’s role in a controversial Justice Department settlement are shared by more lawmakers than Trump has acknowledged.
“POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis,” Cornyn wrote on X after Trump suggested that only the two Republican senators were standing in the way of Blanche’s confirmation.
The dispute centers on Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general and a controversial settlement negotiated earlier this year to resolve President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The agreement included a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate people who claimed they had been unfairly targeted by the federal government, as well as provisions limiting certain IRS audits involving Trump, his family, and related businesses. Those provisions drew criticism from lawmakers in both parties and prompted increased scrutiny during Blanche’s confirmation process, WSJ reported.
During Blanche’s Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, Cornyn repeatedly questioned whether the settlement had actually been changed in writing after Blanche announced that the compensation fund would no longer move forward. Blanche testified that the fund was effectively dead but acknowledged there was no written modification to the settlement agreement itself, leaving open questions about whether parts of the agreement could still be enforced in the future, according to the NR.
Those unanswered questions led Cornyn and Tillis to withhold support for advancing Blanche’s nomination. Because Democrats oppose the nomination, even a small number of Republican defections could jeopardize Blanche’s path to confirmation. Senate Judiciary Committee leaders subsequently delayed a scheduled committee vote while negotiations continued.
Trump responded forcefully on Truth Social, praising Blanche as “a STAR” and one of the best attorney general nominees he had ever selected. The president criticized Cornyn and Tillis for refusing to support the nomination, noting that he had declined to endorse either senator during their political careers. Trump also suggested he could temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination while allowing him to continue serving as acting attorney general before renominating him after Cornyn and Tillis leave office.
The president’s comments further escalated tensions after he indicated he was willing to revive the proposed “anti-weaponization fund” despite previously stating it would not move forward. That reversal alarmed Cornyn and Tillis, who have said they want formal written assurances that the compensation fund will not be implemented and that concerns surrounding the IRS settlement are fully resolved before they will support Blanche’s confirmation.
Cornyn has emphasized that his concerns are focused on the legal structure of the settlement rather than Blanche personally. Following Blanche’s confirmation hearing, the Texas senator described him as an impressive nominee but argued that an attorney general must maintain independence while serving as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. Cornyn also characterized several provisions of the IRS settlement as highly unusual and deserving of additional scrutiny.
The standoff has become one of the most significant Republican disagreements over a Trump administration nominee during the president’s second term. Supporters of Blanche argue he has already made clear that the compensation fund will not move forward, while critics maintain that oral assurances are insufficient without legally binding written changes to the agreement.
Despite Trump’s public criticism, Cornyn signaled that the issue extends beyond two senators, suggesting additional lawmakers have concerns about the settlement’s unresolved provisions. His latest comments underscore that negotiations over Blanche’s nomination remain ongoing, even as the White House continues pressing Senate Republicans to move the nomination forward.
