Todd Blanche's confirmation as U.S. attorney general faced serious uncertainty on July 29 after Senator John Cornyn canceled a second meeting with the nominee, demanding written assurances that a controversial $1.8 billion compensation fund tied to President Donald Trump's IRS lawsuit settlement has been permanently scrapped.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, where every Democrat is expected to oppose Blanche, was set to vote on advancing the nomination on July 30. Cornyn and Senator Thom Tillis, both departing the Senate in January, also want written confirmation that provisions shielding Trump, his family, and business entities from IRS audits cannot be broadly applied. A Justice Department official said the department had provided a written proposal to Cornyn's staff.
Blanche, who became acting attorney general in April after Trump fired Pam Bondi, has repeatedly declined to put the fund's cancellation in writing since announcing its scrapping in June. Trump attributed Cornyn's resistance to not endorsing Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary, which Ken Paxton won.