As GOP Battles Over Blanche, Senate Panel Urged to Block Trump AG Pick

The US Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to approve the nomination of Todd Blanche as attorney general, but GOP infighting could block the advancement of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, who is fiercely opposed by elected Democrats and pro-democracy advocacy groups.

Following the recent unexpected death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Republicans need complete support on the committee to send Blanche's nomination to the full chamber. However, GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (NC) and John Cornyn (Texas) are posing a potential barrier to getting to a final vote on the acting attorney general.

Tillis, who is retiring after this term, and Cornyn, who lost a May primary to a Trump-backed opponent, want a guarantee that the administration won't revive the $1.776 "Anti-Weaponization Fund" proposed as part of a settlement to the president's widely criticized lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

After setbacks in court and public backlash to the slush fund—which was expected to benefit Trump allies, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrectionists—Blanche has signaled that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) would no longer pursue its creation, but that's not enough for many of the administration's critics.

"We just need for the documents to conform to what his testimony was at the hearing where he said the weaponization fund is dead, he said the immunity from future audits does not extend to people beyond the parties to the lawsuit, and he said it wasn’t intended to release further actions by other agencies other than the IRS," Cornyn told reporters, according to The Hill.

Addressing the standoff on social media early Tuesday afternoon, Cornyn wrote that "there is no 'deal'" and "they know what they have to do."

University of Michigan law professor and MS NOW legal analyst Barb McQuade said Tuesday that it's "sad that senators develop a backbone only after losing the primary, but better that wisdom come late than not at all. While Blanche should not be confirmed at all, short of that, at least Cornyn is demanding a halt to Trump's hundred million dollar gift from IRS."

As the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called on the Senate to confirm Blanche "without delay," opponents of his confirmation took to social media Tuesday to urge votes against him.

The committee's Democrats ripped Blanche for how he's treated survivors of late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, and posted a letter from some of them encouraging the Senate to reject his nomination.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NY), a committee member, warned that Blanche "will do whatever Trump tells him to do—no matter how illegal or unconstitutional."

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, now a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, suggested Americans should call their senators directly at 202-224-3121.

The progressive advocacy group Stand Up America similarly urged voters to take action by texting BLANCHE to 63033.

Stand Up America is part of the Not Above the Law coalition, which on Tuesday highlighted that "in the 50 days since Donald Trump nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general on June 8, 2026, a new headline has emerged every single day documenting corruption, self-dealing, or impunity involving the president, his family, or the Justice Department that Blanche has led on an acting basis."

"This is not a record Blanche has run from—it's the record he's built. And if the Senate confirms him, it's the record he'll be free to expand, with almost no one left to check him," the coalition stressed.

The coalition noted that just days after Blanche's nomination, a federal judge denied the Justice Department’s request to pause a ruling to remove Trump's name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Later in June, the coalition noted, Bloomberg revealed that after Indian billionaire Gautam Adani met privately with Donald Trump Jr., the DOJ moved to drop bribery charges against him. Earlier this month, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez accused the department of impeding his investigation into Epstein—a former friend of the president—by withholding unredacted files.

"Cabinet nominees are typically counseled to keep a low profile during their confirmation process. Todd Blanche has not followed that playbook, because he hasn't had to," the coalition said. "As acting attorney general, he has led a Department that has already been rebuffed by a judge on the J6 slush fund, been forced to withdraw unlawful subpoenas of journalists, dropped cases against the well-connected while continuing the Epstein cover-up, and shielded the president's family from scrutiny, all without Senate confirmation standing in his way."

"Confirming him doesn't rein that in. It removes the last remaining check," the coalition stressed. "With the Senate Judiciary Committee set to vote as soon as July 30, senators must ask themselves not just what Blanche has done, but what he'll do once there's no confirmation vote left to answer for."