Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's path to permanent confirmation hit a wall this week when two fellow Republicans refused to advance his nomination until the Justice Department delivers written changes to a controversial settlement shielding President Trump from IRS audits.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley postponed the committee's markup vote on Blanche's nomination Wednesday after Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina declined to commit their votes. The DOJ had been given a 4 p.m. deadline to submit written proposals modifying the IRS-Trump settlement deal, and the department missed it. Without both senators on board, the math simply did not work.
The delay marks an unusual public standoff between a Republican White House and members of its own party over a Cabinet-level nominee. With the GOP holding a slim majority on the Judiciary Committee, even a single defection could sink Blanche's confirmation at the committee stage, a fact that gives Cornyn and Tillis considerable leverage.
The dispute centers on a settlement agreement the DOJ reached with the IRS earlier this year. Under the deal, the IRS agreed not to audit Trump, his family, or affiliated companies. The settlement also included a nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, described now as defunct, that drew bipartisan concern because it could channel payouts to pardoned participants in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Cornyn has pushed for formal, written modifications to the deal since Blanche's confirmation process began. He told reporters Wednesday that the DOJ has repeatedly failed to follow through.
"We need to conform the actual document to what Todd Blanche testified under oath as the president's acting attorney general. We've had two meetings scheduled that have now been canceled because they have not been responsive in providing those written documents."
A planned Wednesday morning meeting between Cornyn and Blanche was also called off. National Review reported that both Cornyn and Tillis are pushing for a formal written rescission of the $1.776 billion fund, which the outlet described as a "slush fund" for payouts to pardoned Capitol riot defendants.
Cornyn, a longtime senator who will leave office at the end of this year after losing his seat to Trump-backed Ken Paxton, has been the most resistant holdout. But he is not acting alone.
Tillis struck a more conciliatory tone, making clear he does not "have a beef with DOJ or with Blanche." His objection is procedural, not personal. He wants the written language in hand before he votes.
"So there's, you know, there's a circle of people that have to go through the loop. And I get that, but, you know, if we can get it done or possibly get him reported out on Tuesday, if they schedule a markup, I would support that if we get the language."
Asked about the pace of negotiations, Tillis offered a blunt summary: "They're trying to get it done, but still gotta get it done." He also noted that the settlement itself was likely signed by the president's lawyer, not by Trump personally, a detail that may bear on how easily the agreement can be amended.
The Washington Examiner reported that the DOJ did transmit a new written proposal to Cornyn's staff addressing concerns about the fund's scope, but a face-to-face meeting between Cornyn and Blanche never took place. A Judiciary Committee spokesperson framed the postponement as strategic rather than hostile, saying Grassley "works to set President Trump's nominees up for success in committee, not failure."
Blanche, for his part, has faced resistance from Cornyn for weeks. He spent Wednesday making rounds in the Senate, meeting with lawmakers and capping his visit with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming. He declined to comment to reporters on his way out of the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune had hoped a resolution could come together in time for a floor vote next week. He cast the standoff as a negotiation between the White House and the two holdout senators, not a broader rebellion.
"I think that that's an issue between, right now, the White House and Senators Cornyn and Tillis. But, yeah, I would encourage them to sit down, which I think they are, and try to come to a resolution there so that the markup can continue tomorrow, and we can get Todd Blanche ready for the floor."
That optimistic timeline has already slipped. The markup did not resume Thursday. Grassley has not announced a new date. Just The News reported that the slim Republican majority means a single defecting vote could defeat Blanche's confirmation in committee outright, raising the stakes for every day the written proposals remain undelivered.
This is not the first time the Senate has forced the Trump administration to recalibrate on a high-profile nomination. The White House pulled back its intelligence director pick earlier after bipartisan pushback, and Blanche's own confirmation hearings have already generated friction, including a pointed exchange at an earlier hearing when Senator Mazie Hirono opened with a sexual misconduct question that drew criticism from Republicans.
President Trump, asked about the holdup by reporters in the Oval Office, expressed confidence in his nominee but suggested the opposition might be personal.
"Well, all I can say is Todd Blanche is outstanding. And I thought he's, I thought it was pretty routine because he's so good. You just wouldn't find a better person. So, I don't know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn't endorse him. I don't know what it is, but I haven't heard that there's a problem."
Trump's remark about his non-endorsement of Cornyn adds a political dimension to the standoff. Cornyn is leaving the Senate after being ousted by Paxton, whom Trump backed. Whether that history is shaping Cornyn's posture on the Blanche nomination or whether the senator's demands are purely substantive is an open question, but the fact remains that the DOJ has not produced the documents Cornyn has been requesting.
Blanche accepted Trump's nomination to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi amid a wave of DOJ activity. Since stepping into the acting role, he has taken on a range of administration priorities, including, as the New York Post reported, vowing to use every legal tool to advance Trump's $400 million White House ballroom project after Congress stripped related funding from a reconciliation bill.
The core dispute is narrow. Cornyn and Tillis want the DOJ to put in writing what Blanche has already said under oath: that the anti-weaponization fund is defunct and that the audit-immunity provision in the IRS-Trump settlement will be modified. Neither senator has said he opposes Blanche personally. Neither has threatened to vote against him on the merits.
But the DOJ's failure to deliver a straightforward written proposal, after two canceled meetings and a missed deadline, has turned a procedural request into a public embarrassment. The department controls the pace of this process. Until it produces the documents, two Republican senators will continue to hold the line, and Blanche's confirmation will sit in limbo.
If the Justice Department wants its nominee confirmed, it can start by answering its own mail.