Trump floats pulling Blanche AG nom until after GOP holdouts leave

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is open to “temporarily withdrawing” Todd Blanche‘s nomination for U.S. attorney general until after two Republican holdouts, Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, leave office next year.

Trump floated that possibility on Truth Social after excoriating the GOP senators over their continued refusal to back Blanche, the current acting AG, due to lingering concerns about the Department of Justice’s controversial settlement of the president’s lawsuit against his own IRS.

Cornyn quickly replied on X that Trump “is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.”

Trump’s post came hours after the Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes Cornyn and Tillis, postponed a vote on Blanche’s nomination that was planned for Thursday. If either Republican were to vote against Blanche in the committee, his nomination could be blocked from advancing to a final vote in the full Senate.

Tillis, on Capitol Hill midday Thursday, told CNBC the committee vote could be quickly rescheduled if his concerns are addressed. “It really just comes down to getting this kink in the slinky” sorted out, he said.

The senator said he doesn’t understand why Trump would dig in his heels on the IRS lawsuit, which continues to stoke outrage even after Blanche said the DOJ would drop plans to create a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund as part of its settlement.

“It makes no sense to me. This is not popular. The president’s not winning on this issue. It is killing some of our candidates because they can’t explain it,” Tillis said.

He added that the continued recalcitrance makes it “look like they weren’t being honest” when they said the fund was no longer operative.

Trump wrote in Thursday’s post that Blanche “is a STAR,” but Cornyn and Tillis are “refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting.”

The president took credit for having “ended” the political careers of Cornyn and Tillis, who are both leaving office in January. Cornyn lost his Republican primary race in Texas in May, after Trump endorsed his challenger, state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Tillis, of North Carolina, announced last year that he would not seek reelection.

“Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention,” Trump wrote in the post, referring to former President Joe Biden‘s AG pick, who was confirmed 70-30 in the Senate in 2021.

Trump added, “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”

Blanche, who was deputy attorney general before becoming acting AG following Pam Bondi’s firing in April, has drawn accusations of behaving like the president’s defense lawyer — the role he served before joining the DOJ.

Blanche oversaw the settlement in May of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS stemming from the leak of his tax records years earlier. In exchange for dropping the suit, the DOJ said it would create a $1.776 billion fund to disburse to people who claimed to be victims of “lawfare.” In a subsequent document, the DOJ agreed that the past federal tax returns of Trump, his family members and related entities are barred from IRS enforcement actions.

The unprecedented arrangement infuriated Democrats and alarmed some Republicans. In June, Blanche said in testimony before a House panel that the DOJ would drop the fund, though the tax protection piece would stand.

Blanche resisted requests to affirm in writing that the fund would not be resurrected. That refusal has become a sticking point with Cornyn and Tillis.

Shortly before the Judiciary panel announced the postponement of its vote on Blanche, the DOJ sent a new response to Cornyn and Tillis — but it did not resolve their concerns.

“Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” a Senate Judiciary spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday evening.

“Tomorrow’s markup is postponed as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee to favorably report Attorney General-nominee Todd Blanche, who is highly qualified for the job,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier Wednesday, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and majority whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Capitol Hill.

Senators who left the meetings said Wiles was checking in on several topics, but didn’t elaborate. Trump is also heaping pressure on Republicans to pass his controversial elections bill, the SAVE America Act, which faces a challenging path forward in the Senate.

— CNBC’s Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.