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Trump Pushes to Keep Blanche as Acting AG and 'Resurrect the Payout Pot for Punks'
The president wants "your tax dollars available to compensate his political allies," a Democratic congressman said. "He's flat out trying to steal your money."
Aug 01, 2026
As two Republican senators continue to stand with Democrats against the nomination of Todd Blanche as US attorney general over the so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund," President Donald Trump made clear on Saturday that he's willing to keep his former personal lawyer in the post in an acting capacity while pushing for legislation to allow the widely condemned payout scheme.
Due to the unexpected death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Republicans need full support on the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche, but GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (NC) and John Cornyn (Texas) have been blocking him over the $1.776 billion fund—which, in addition to an immunity deal, was part of the settlement for the Trump family's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. A panel vote is rescheduled for Tuesday, but so far there's no deal.
Since US District Judge Kathleen Williams—appointed in the Southern District of Florida by former President Barack Obama—ruled against the fund last month, Blanche has indicated the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will no longer pursue the creation of the slush fund, and Trump even referred to it as "dead" on Friday. However, the Trump family also appealed to the 11th Circuit on Friday.
Responding to the appeal on Friday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that "when I offered my amendment to kill this slush fund, Republicans said we should accept Trump's word that it was dead. We knew they were wrong. This is why. Even in the middle of an illegal war, with prices rising, Trump wants to send your tax dollars to criminals and save his sweetheart tax deal."
The president on Friday also ranted about Cornyn—who lost a May primary to a Trump-backed opponent—on his Truth Social platform, writing that "John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called 'Fund,' which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate."
Trump did not mention the timeline: The DOJ announced the settlement, including the slush fund, on May 18, and the president endorsed Cornyn's scandal-plagued primary challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, on May 19.
Instead, the president focused on the potential recipients of payouts—including January 6, 2021 insurrectionists previously pardoned by him—claiming that "perhaps there has never been a group of people treated so badly in our Nation’s history. They are suffering still, many ruined, and I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them. I gave up any payments for myself, which would have been substantial, including for the illegal and unprecedented raid on Mar-a-Lago, my home in Florida, even though many legal experts, and others, including John Cornyn, said it was a shocking and disgusting display of 'weaponization' against me."
"Such an event has never happened before, and hopefully will never happen again!" Trump continued. "I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined! Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed. Todd Blanche, a good man, should be immediately approved as US Attorney General."
Tillis responded on the platform X, writing Friday that "the president made it clear today that the so-called Anti Weaponization Fund is still alive, which is exactly why we are attempting to formally end it. While I never disagreed that the Biden administration pursued a number of vindictive prosecutions related to January 6, the criminals who assaulted police officers and defiled our nation's Capitol are not 'great American patriots' who are 'victims of government abuse.' Anyone who attacked law enforcement should still be in prison, not getting a check from the federal government."
"Sen. Cornyn and I have been working with acting AG Todd Blanche to end the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and he has been forthright, thoughtful, and patient," added Tillis, who is retiring after this term. "It's a shame his confirmation has hit a snag only because an incompetent personal adviser to the president refuses to amend the bogus settlement. I will continue working in good faith to put an end [to] this legal and political albatross and prevent any potential misallocation of taxpayer dollars."
Trump then took aim at both of them on Saturday, saying that "if Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren't going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting AG, and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done."
Tillis again replied on X: "Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against. It's unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday."
Meanwhile, many elected Democrats and other critics, from advocacy group leaders to survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, don't agree Blanche is qualified, and want his nomination withdrawn. For example, after the committee vote was postponed, MoveOn Political Action chief communications officer Joel Payne said Thursday that "Todd Blanche's nomination is stalled because his record is corrupt and indefensible."
"He has spent his career proving that there is no legal principle he will not bend and no institution he will not compromise in service of Donald Trump," Payne continued. "His blind loyalty, willingness to use the justice system to protect the president, and role in a sweetheart settlement benefiting Trump make him completely unfit to serve as attorney general."
"Senate Republicans may be trying to put some distance between themselves and this toxic nomination, but moving the vote does not change the facts," he added. "Blanche is still Trump's fixer, still disqualified, and still a threat to the rule of law. The Senate should stop dragging this out and kill the nomination."
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'Withdraw Immediately': Blanche Confirmation Process Delayed Over Trump IRS Audit Shield
"Blanche had months to deliver on the demands both senators and the people have had of him, and he has failed, proving he only serves President Trump," said one advocacy group.
Jul 30, 2026
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday delayed its planned vote to advance Todd Blanche's nomination as US attorney general as the Justice Department—which he currently leads in an acting capacity—refused to commit to kill elements of a legal deal that he reached to settle President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the judiciary panel, announced that the scheduled Thursday vote on Blanche's nomination was "postponed as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee." Two key Republicans, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are demanding written commitments from Blanche that the Justice Department will not move forward with a $1.8 billion "slush fund" for Trump's political allies and will limit the reach of IRS audit protections for the Trump family—central elements of the IRS settlement.
Cornyn and Tillis appeared convinced that the so-called "anti-weaponization fund" was dead and would not be revived, but the senators expressed concern that Blanche is committed to upholding provisions of the IRS settlement that would permanently insulate Trump and his family members from tax audits. The New York Times reported that Cornyn, who lost reelection in May to corrupt Trump-backed challenger Ken Paxton, "had received no written assurances from Mr. Blanche that the audit shield would not apply to future tax liabilities or be extended to a wider circle of people."
"Maybe they think they can roll me," Cornyn told CNN, expressing astonishment at the Justice Department's foot-dragging. "We actually sent them a red line strikeout of what we need, and they just need to make a decision, and if they do, then we’ll proceed with the markup."
"We’re trying to make it easy for them," the senator added. "They won’t take the help."
Blanche's nomination has faced widespread opposition—including from the New York City Bar Association—over his handling of the Epstein files, treatment of the late sex offender's victims, and willingness to target the president's political opponents and carry out his assault on voting rights. (Blanche previously worked as Trump's personal attorney and said, "I'm his lawyer," during a confirmation hearing earlier this month.)
Omar Noureldin, senior vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, said in a statement late Wednesday that "Blanche had months to deliver on the demands both senators and the people have had of him, and he has failed, proving he only serves President Trump."
"Blanche should show humility and withdraw immediately," said Noureldin.
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As GOP Battles Over Blanche, Senate Panel Urged to Block Trump AG Pick
"In the 50 days since Donald Trump nominated Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general," one coalition noted, "a new headline has emerged every single day documenting corruption, self-dealing, or impunity."
Jul 28, 2026
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 billion "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."
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Texas Lawyer Who Defended Paxton Against Impeachment Endorses Talarico for US Senate
“Republicans have had control of Texas for 30 years,” said lawyer Dan Cogdell. "We are last in the country in healthcare, bottom for education, first in school shootings, first in most uninsured.”
Jun 08, 2026
James Talarico, the Democratic Texas state representative hoping to flip Sen. John Cornyn's seat blue this November, just received the endorsement of a rather unlikely figure: his opponent’s longtime defense lawyer.
Dan Cogdell, the Houston attorney who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly a decade, said on Monday that his former client was too focused on serving President Donald Trump and had "lost sight" of the goal to serve Texans.
Cogdell defended Paxton in 2023 when he was impeached by the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives for allegedly accepting bribes from a campaign donor, and in a separate securities fraud case that began in 2015 and lasted nearly a decade.
“I defended Ken Paxton for years in the impeachment trial and in state criminal cases. But in my view, respectfully, I think Ken has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas,” Cogdell said on his podcast, where he hosted Talarico, the 37-year-old state representative, who won the Democratic primary in March.
“Unlike Ken, I believe to my core that James Talarico believes in unity over division and that he knows how to assemble not only Democrats, but Independents and Republicans, and we need that right now,” Cogdell continued.
According to NOTUS, which first reported on Cogdell's endorsement, the attorney had donated $6,500 to Paxton's Senate campaign last year, but turned around to give Talarico a $1,000 donation in March.
Paxton won the Republican Senate primary last month after Trump intervened to support him over Cornyn.
Cogdell has, in recent years, broken with Trump, referring to him last year as “the greatest threat to democracy our country’s ever seen," comments that were used in anti-Paxton attack ads.
But as he's pursued a Senate run, Paxton—who attempted to help the president overturn his loss in the 2020 election—has only doubled down on his Trump loyalty. In the president's second term, the attorney general has directed Texas law enforcement to help with his national mass deportation campaign, backed his efforts to carry out ruthless partisan redistricting, and pursued legal action against the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.
Talarico is hoping to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas in over 30 years. Cogdell said he would represent a much-needed change.
“Republicans have had control of Texas for 30 years. Enough is enough. We are last in the country in healthcare, bottom for education, first in school shootings, first in most uninsured,” he said. “We are in a war we shouldn’t be in. Gas is so expensive, I literally can’t fill up my truck because most pumps shut off at $125.00, and at over $5.00 a gallon, that’s not even a full tank.”
Talarico, who is tied or slightly leading Paxton in recent polls, seized on Cogdell’s endorsement to welcome disgruntled Cornyn supporters into the Democratic tent after a bitter primary.
“If you voted for John Cornyn, you have a place in this campaign,” Talarico said. “If you’re a Republican tired of the corruption you’re seeing in government, you have a place in this campaign. Even if you’re Ken Paxton’s impeachment lawyer, you have a place in this campaign. We are building a people-powered movement that welcomes Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike.”
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Even Senate Republicans Are Against Trump's Appointment of Pulte as Acting Intel Chief
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI; we need professionals there," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Jun 02, 2026
Republican US senators including Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of criticism in response to President Donald Trump's appointment of loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, despite an utter lack of relevant experience or expertise.
Thune (SD) was asked by a reporter what he thought of Trump's appointment of the private equity firm founder and homebuilder—who is currently director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—to the top intel post, which current Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard will officially vacate on June 30.
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI; we need professionals there," Thune said, according to The Hill. “If they nominate him to take the position permanently, he’ll have to go through a confirmation process and hearings and everything else, so we’ll see."
Thune added that Pulte would have "a lengthy road ahead of him" if Trump sought to make him the permanent DNI.
The majority leader wasn't the only Senate Republican who voiced opposition to Trump's move.
"The best I can tell you is he’s not qualified, but I don’t know anything about him other than that," said outgoing Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who last month lost a primary to Trump-backed Republican challenger Rep. Julia Letlow.
Sen. John Cornyn—who also lost his recent primary runoff in Texas after Trump backed his opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton—told reporters that “I see no evidence of any qualifications for that job" for Pulte, "but I’m willing to listen.”
Common Dreams reported earlier Tuesday on Democratic opposition to Pulte's appointment, mostly over allegations that he's used his position at FHFA to target Trump's political foes for politically motivated mortgage fraud investigations.
Targeted individuals include two figures involved in Trump's two impeachments: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.); former FBI Director James Comey, who oversaw an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election; New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a $450 million judgment against the president and his business in a civil fraud case; and Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, whom the president has been attempting to oust so that he can fill the US central bank with loyalists.
Last November, a federal judge dismissed the cases against Comey and James, ruling that Trump's handpicked prosecutor was illegally installed. The following month, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office agreed to investigate whether Pulte and other FHFA employees "potentially misused federal authority and resources to publicly accuse prominent Democrats and President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies of mortgage fraud."
Even more Democrats piled on Pulte later on Tuesday.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said on X: "As someone who helped set up the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, I oppose elevating Bill Pulte to acting director. He has no experience. Zero. And he is the wrong choice to help keep us safe."
"Mr. Pulte has weaponized his current agency against the president's critics, he's fired federal watchdogs looking into his allies, and he is under active investigation by the Government Accountability Office," she continued. "This all makes him an incredibly dangerous choice to be in charge of ODNI and have access to the tools of this office."
"As someone who has had the government weaponized against me, I cannot in good conscience support his elevation to such a sensitive post," added Slotkin, who drew Trump's ire and a federal probe with a video reminding US troops of their duty to not follow illegal orders. "The president should choose a serious nominee."
Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona—a retired Navy captain who was investigated by the Pentagon for comments similar to Slotkin's until a federal judge blocked the baseless probe—quipped, “If you’re good at drywall, you must be good at national intelligence."
"I don’t get it," he added. "This is an important job, you know. This is about the safety of all Americans.”
Advocacy groups also rejected Pulte's appointment, with the co-chairs of the Not Above the Law coalition issuing a statement reading, “This appointment is a reward, and has nothing to do with qualifications."
"At FHFA, Bill Pulte did one thing: hunt Trump’s perceived enemies," the statement by Public Citizen's Lisa Gilbert, Constitutional Accountability Center's Praveen Fernandes, MoveOn's Kelsey Herbert, and Stand Up America's Brett Edkins continued. "He ginned up mortgage fraud allegations against sitting officials, which federal investigators found baseless, and weaponized a housing regulator to punish those who tried to hold Trump accountable."
“If past is prologue, he will now do the same with the vast resources of the US intelligence community," the co-chairs asserted. "The agencies built to protect Americans, including our troops at home and abroad, will be turned into instruments of political retribution, betraying the men and women who serve those agencies and every American whose safety depends on them."
“Trump doesn’t staff his government with people who uphold the law," the statement adds. "He installs people willing to break it for him, and now he’s handing one of them the keys to our nation’s most sensitive information.”
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Texas AG Paxton Files 'Baseless' Lawsuit to Unseat 13 Democratic State Lawmakers
"This seat doesn't belong to him or me—it belongs to the people," one targeted legislator defiantly declared.
Aug 08, 2025
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued former Congressman Beto O'Rourke and his political action committee in what critics called a "baseless" bid to oust 13 Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an effort to thwart a GOP gerrymandering scheme.
Paxton's office claimed that O'Rourke, a Democrat, and his Powered by People PAC illegally solicited donations to cover personal expenses for Democratic state legislators who fled Texas in an effort to block a Republican plan to rig the state's congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction to stop O'Rourke and Powered by People from raising or distributing funds to support the more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who left Texas. The attorney general argued that 13 state legislative seats "have been vacated due to continued unlawful absences."
"Democrat runaways are likely accepting Beto Bribes to underwrite their jet-setting sideshow in far-flung places and misleadingly raising political funds to pay for personal expenses," Paxton alleged in a statement. "This out-of-state, cowardly cabal is abandoning their constitutional duties. I will not allow failed political has-beens to buy off Texas elected officials."
This, after Paxton and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) asked an Illinois court to enforce civil arrest warrants issued Monday in a bid to compel Democratic state legislators to return to Austin to vote on the legislation. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) also enlisted the FBI's assistance to track down and arrest the absconding Democrats.
O'Rourke said Friday that Powered by People filed a retaliatory lawsuit accusing Paxton of using "the power of the state of Texas to try and intimidate Mr. O'Rourke from challenging defendant in a free and fair election."
"The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five congressional seats," O'Rourke told KVUE. "Let's stop these thugs before they steal our country."
Targeted Democratic lawmakers also waxed defiant, backed by officials in the states to which they fled including Illinois, where Gov. JB Pritzer asserted that "there literally is no federal law applicable to this situation."
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D-50) said on social media that "Ken Paxton just filed a lawsuit to remove me from office. But this seat doesn't belong to him or me—it belongs to the people."
Advocacy groups also denounced Paxton's lawsuit, with Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, contending that the attorney general and Texas Republicans "are so desperate to pass their partisan redistricting scheme that they're launching a baseless legal assault to unseat democratically elected lawmakers."
"It's just the latest threat against lawmakers who refuse to carry out Trump's demands and rig congressional maps to bank five new Republican congressional districts," Edkins added. "The courts shouldn't entertain this undemocratic attack for even one second."
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FBI Helping GOP Track Down Texas Democrats Denounced as 'Threat to Our Democracy'
"They're grandstanding. There literally is no federal law applicable to this situation—none," said the governor of Illinois, which is hosting some of the lawmakers trying to prevent GOP gerrymandering.
Aug 07, 2025
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to help track down Texas lawmakers who left the state in a bid to block a new congressional map rigged to favor Republicans, sparking fears of a potential standoff between various law enforcement agencies or even illegal arrests by the FBI.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies in the state Legislature are trying to force through the map for 2026 during a special session to appease President Donald Trump. After over 50 elected Democrats fled to Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York on Sunday, their GOP colleagues issued civil arrest warrants, and Cornyn sent a letter requesting federal assistance.
"I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats," Cornyn (R-Texas) said in a Thursday statement. "I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities."
The Texas Tribune reported that "a spokesperson for Cornyn declined to provide additional information about the specifics of the FBI's involvement, and the bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
Responding in a statement, Christina Harvey, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, said that "the idea that the FBI would be weaponized to hunt down democratically elected lawmakers because they are standing in the way of President Trump's partisan political agenda should alarm every American."
"It's taking a page out of the authoritarian playbook to intimidate political opponents and force a vote on rigged electoral maps that would help MAGA Republicans cling to power," she added. "We stand with the brave Democratic lawmakers who are putting everything on the line to resist this partisan power grab orchestrated by Trump and Gov. Abbott, and we urge them to keep up the fight."
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the group Public Citizen, said that "when politicians deploy federal law enforcement against state elected officials simply for opposing their agenda, they attack our system and put our American freedoms at risk. We stand with the patriotic legislators who are resisting this authoritarian overreach. This moment represents a deep-seated threat to our democracy as we know it."
Experts and elected officials, including Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, have emphasized that the FBI does not have the authority to enforce the civil warrants, and the Texas Democrats don't face any criminal ones. On Wednesday, News Not Noise's Jessica Yellin asked Pritzker about Cornyn's request to the FBI and Trump's comment that the agency "may have to" get involved.
"Well, they're grandstanding," the Illinois governor said. "There literally is no federal law applicable to this situation—none. They can say that they're sending FBI. FBI agents might show up just to—I don't know—again, to put a show on."
"But the fact is that, you know, our local law enforcement protect everybody in Illinois," he continued. "Our state troopers protect everybody in Illinois and anybody who's here in Illinois. And so, whether it's federal agents coming to Illinois or state rangers from Texas, if you haven't broken federal law, you're basically unwelcome, and there's no way that our state legislators here—the Texas state legislators—can be arrested."
Pritzker also stressed that the entire series of events "is really all about politics," explaining that Abbott is an "avid follower" of Trump, and Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging Cornyn for his Senate seat, "so they're fighting, bickering over who can be tougher on this topic."
The gerrymandering battle has also generated at least one major threat of violence. Early Wednesday, a hotel in the Chicago suburbs where some Texas Democrats are staying had to be evacuated due to a bomb threat. Local law enforcement searched the building before allowing guests to return.
"All members are safe; everything is fine, and we are charting the course forward," Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party, said after the evacuation. "It's going to take more than a couple of threats to try to scare Texas Democrats off of this course. It is essential to us and what we believe as Democrats that people deserve representation in our government, and we are moving full steam ahead."
Reporting on Cornyn's Thursday statement about the FBI, The New York Times noted that "several Democrats said that as of Thursday morning no federal agents had been seen or reported at their hotel, in St. Charles, Illinois."
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Cornyn Wants FBI to Arrest Democrats Who Fled Texas to Fight Gerrymandering
"This is simply John Cornyn asking for unconstitutional, lawless, and arbitrary federal power," said one legal expert.
Aug 05, 2025
"Entirely unhinged" was how one constitutional law expert described a letter U.S. Sen. John Cornyn sent to the FBI Tuesday, demanding that the top federal law enforcement agency intervene "to locate or arrest potential lawbreakers who have fled" Texas—meaning the Democratic state legislators who left the state this week to prevent Republicans from advancing a congressional map that would likely net the GOP five more U.S. House seats.
Cornyn (R-Texas) didn't mention the Republican Party's redistricting effort, which has been backed by the Trump administration and is aimed at changing district lines that formed districts with Black and Latino majorities, in his letter to FBI Director Kash Patel. Instead, he claimed the dozens of Democratic state lawmakers who left Texas on Sunday were stopping the state House from addressing proposed disaster relief following deadly floods last month.
Republicans had added the redistricting efforts to the legislative agenda of a special session, making the flood relief a lesser priority—and angering state Democrats who have been in states including Illinois and New York since leaving Sunday, with Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker and Kathy Hochul providing protection against GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's threat to arrest them.
Cornyn claimed in his letter to Patel that the Texas Department of Public Safety may need the FBI's help in locating and arresting the "fleeing lawmakers," and accused the state Democrats of potentially running afoul of anti-bribery laws by accepting the support of Prtizker, Hochul, and other out-of-state officials who have helped them since they left Texas.
"I am concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses," wrote Cornyn. "These legislators have committed potential criminal acts in their rush to avoid their constitutional responsibilities and must be fully investigated and held accountable."
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, said Cornyn's plea for help from Patel amounted to "police state hogwash from a guy who should know better."
"There is no reasonable basis that arresting Texas legislators will prevent the commission of a federal crime," he said. "This is simply John Cornyn asking for unconstitutional, lawless, and arbitrary federal power."
As Common Dreams reported Monday, Texas state House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) signed civil arrest warrants for the more than 50 Democrats who left the state to deny the chamber a quorum, but one expert said the warrants would not be enforceable outside Texas.
Under legislative rules the state House members face $500 daily fines for each day they miss of the session, and they could be formally reprimanded, censured, and expelled if two-thirds of the chamber vote in support of those measures—but legal experts have said Abbott and other Republican leaders in Texas would have a difficult time proving the lawmakers have committed any civil or criminal offenses.
"They have not committed a crime. They are not fugitives," said Kreis. "There's no offense against the United States."
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'Good Riddance': McConnell to Step Down as Senate GOP Leader
"One of the worst people to ever serve in office. He will be remembered for all the wrong things."
Feb 28, 2024
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Having secured a right-wing takeover of the U.S. federal court system in recent years, giving conservatives the power to shape the law on climate action, reproductive justice, and other key issues impacting millions of people across the country, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday he will step down from his leadership role in November.
The Kentucky Republican, who has held office since 1985 despite consistently receiving low approval ratings from voters in his state, said he plans to finish his current term, which ends in January 2027, "albeit from a different seat in the chamber."
An aide for McConnell told the Associated Press that his decision at age 82 is unrelated to his health, which has been a subject of concern in recent months following a fall last year and two incidents when the senator's face appeared to freeze while he was taking questions from reporters.
McConnell's career has been marked by frequent obstruction, with the senator nicknaming himself the "Grim Reaper" as he blocked votes on election security legislation, opposed campaign finance reform bills, blocked bipartisan background check proposals after numerous mass shootings, and delayed confirmation hearings for President Barack Obama's Supreme Court justice pick—allowing Republicans to install their own right-wing nominee after Obama left office.
In a 2019 column at Common Dreams, former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich noted that in addition to his record of obstruction, McConnell also frequently bent the rules to get his way:
This is the man who got rid of the age-old Senate rule requiring 60 Senators to agree on a Supreme Court nomination so he could ram through not one but two Supreme Court justices, including one with a likely history of sexual assault.
This is the man who rushed through the Senate, without a single hearing, a $2 trillion tax cut for big corporations and wealthy Americans—a tax cut that raised the government debt by almost the same amount, generated no new investment, failed to raise wages, but gave the stock market a temporary sugar high because most corporations used the tax savings to buy back their own shares of stock.
While former Republican President Donald Trump "defaced and defiled the presidency," said Reich on Wednesday, "no person has done more in living memory to undermine the functioning of the U.S. government" than McConnell.
Despite his disagreements with Trump and his opposition to the former president's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, McConnell voted to acquit the former president on the charge of inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021. The Republican leader had admitted that Trump "provoked" the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali pronounced McConnell "one of the worst people to ever serve in office."
Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have all been named as lawmakers who are likely to vie for the party leadership role. All three senators have announced their endorsements of Trump in the 2024 election in recent weeks.
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Billionaire Harlan Crow Also Bankrolled GOP Lawmakers Blocking SCOTUS Ethics Reform
A new analysis shows Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have received more than $450,000 from the same GOP megadonor who has lavished Justice Clarence Thomas with undisclosed gifts.
May 09, 2023
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday sent a letter asking Harlan Crow—the billionaire GOP megadonor who has secretly showered U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts since the mid-1990s—to provide a full accounting of his financial ties to Thomas and any other judges on the high court.
It comes as "no surprise" that none of the panel's nine Republicans signed the letter, Accountable.US declared Tuesday, because they have collectively accepted nearly half a million dollars in campaign cash from Crow since the turn of the century, as a new analysis from the watchdog group shows.
Last month, one day after ProPublica published its bombshell report on Crow's under-the-table funding of near-annual luxury vacations for Thomas—the first of what would become many revelations about the two men's financial relationship—Accountable.US calculated that the current Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee received $453,300 from Crow between 2001 and 2022. The group revised that figure up to $457,000 on Tuesday in light of a $3,700 donation Crow made to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) earlier this year.
The following is a list of Crow's total contributions to the nine GOP lawmakers on the panel as well as their affiliated PACs and joint fundraising committees, in descending order:
- Cornyn: $294,800
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa): $46,600
- Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.): $23,900
- Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas): $23,500
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.): $20,600
- Sen. Mike Lee (Utah): $19,500
- Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.): $13,400
- Sen. John Kennedy (La.): $8,300
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.): $6,400
"There should be bipartisan outrage about the undisclosed gifts and travel billionaire megadonor Harlan Crow has given Justice Thomas," Accountable.US president Kyle Herrig said last month. "Senate Judiciary Republicans should join their Democratic colleagues to act. However, their silence so far may be because they have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Crow as well."
"The highest court in the land should have the highest ethical standards," he added. "When it doesn't, Congress should exert its oversight authority."
Not only have Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee with apparent conflicts of interest refused to join their Democratic colleagues in trying to establish enforceable ethics rules for the Supreme Court, but they have attempted to downplay the seriousness of the court's growing crisis of legitimacy.
Several of the panel's GOP members used last week's hearing on proposed Supreme Court ethics reforms—a hearing Chief Justice John Roberts refused to testify at despite mounting evidence of possible corruption involving Thomas and others, including Roberts himself as well as Justice Neil Gorsuch—as "an opportunity for political grandstanding and performative outrage," Accountable.US noted Tuesday.
"Cornyn claimed Congress did not have the authority to regulate the courts due to separation of powers—a claim that was disproven by an expert witness that testified at the hearing," Accountable.US pointed out. "Cruz claimed the hearing was not about judicial ethics, but instead, was an attempt to attack Justice Thomas for having rich friends."
Lee went so far as to say that "when this chapter of American history is written, those who attack Justice Thomas today will be justly dismissed as intolerant bigots."
Meanwhile, Graham, the ranking member, accused the left of trying to "delegitimize the court and cherry-pick examples to make a point." Echoing his right-wing ally, Grassley argued that recent revelations are part of a long-term effort to "cast doubt on certain judges and justices, all because the left is opposed to recent court rulings."
Kennedy, for his part, denounced "attacks on conservative justices" as "targeted" and "exaggerated" and dismissed proposed Supreme Court ethics rules as "unnecessary."
Two days after right-wing senators accused reform advocates of launching what Cruz called a "smear campaign" against Thomas, ProPublica revealed that Crow also paid tens of thousands of dollars for the jurist's grandnephew to attend a pair of elite private schools. This came after earlier exposés about Crow footing the bill for yacht trips, buying and remodeling Thomas' mother's home, and more.
Given the mounting evidence of potential connections between Crow's gifts, which Thomas sought to keep hidden, and Thomas' inclination to rule in ways favorable to his superrich benefactor, calls for the judge to resign or face impeachment are growing.
Not only does Crow have links to numerous right-wing groups involved in Supreme Court cases since Thomas was first confirmed to the bench in 1991, but his own real estate company, Crow Holdings, was directly implicated in a 2021 case before the court.
As The Lever reported last month, Thomas voted to end the Covid-era federal eviction moratorium after Crow Holdings called the lifesaving policy a threat to its "profit margins." Now, as a group of New York City landlords prepares to ask the high court to overturn local rent control laws condemned by Crow Holdings—a move that would endanger rent stabilization efforts nationwide—"there is no indication" Thomas would recuse himself, the outlet noted.
Moreover, as Common Dreams reported last week, an Americans for Tax Fairness analysis of campaign finance data shows that after Thomas provided a deciding vote in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, the Crow family's average annual campaign contributions soared by 862%, from $163,241 before 2010 to $1.57 million since.
This massive increase, which is partly reflected in Crow's donations to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, underscores how the 5-4 ruling that effectively legalized unlimited political spending has strengthened the wealthy's ability to shape electoral outcomes, further undermining U.S. democracy.
On Tuesday, The Lever argued that the main goal of Crow and other billionaires who provide gifts and outside money to members of the Supreme Court is not to obtain certain decisions in specific cases, given that the court's right-wing ideologues would likely rule conservatively anyway, but to prevent GOP appointees from becoming more liberal over time—a phenomenon that has occurred in the past.
Alluding to Monday's letter from Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), The Washington Post reported that "if Crow ignores the request for information by the committee's May 22 deadline, it's unclear what Durbin's next move would be."
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is returning to Capitol Hill after an illness kept her away from the Senate since February. Feinstein's absence has left Durbin without a majority on the panel, enabling the GOP minority to impede action, but her return would open up options.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Durbin did not rule out the possibility of a subpoena, saying that "everything is on the table."
In addition to the implementation of robust ethics rules, progressives have called for other far-reaching changes to disempower the country's "rogue" Supreme Court justices, including expanding the court. Seats have been added seven times throughout U.S. history.
Polling data shows that public approval of the nation's chief judicial body has decreased sharply in the months since its reactionary supermajority eliminated the constitutional right to abortion care, among other harmful and unpopular decisions. According to a survey conducted last month, nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults no longer have confidence in the high court.
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