The confirmation process for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is delayed, as Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are negotiating with the Justice Department.
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Blanche’s nomination has to first go through the Senate Judiciary Committee, and then it heads to the full Senate for a full vote if he is approved. The committee meeting Thursday morning to push forward his nomination was listed as “postponed.”
Tillis and Cornyn are seeking “written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” a statement from the committee explained on Wednesday, according to Punchbowl News. A counteroffer was given to the DOJ on Wednesday from the Texas senator, the outlet reported.
Sen. CORNYN also said this morning that things aren’t closer to resolved
“I don’t know whether they think they could wait us out or we’ll cave, but I assure you we won’t.” https://t.co/Jh63sqYST1
— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) July 30, 2026
BLANCHE LATEST: Negotiations are still active after Senate Judiciary canceled this morning’s committee vote on the AG nominee
Sen. CORNYN has offered a counter-proposal to DOJ in response to their latest offer last night, per a source familiar w/ the talks https://t.co/hZ4HnviGgw
— Laura Weiss (@LauraEWeiss16) July 30, 2026
“I don’t know whether they think they could wait us out or we’ll cave, but I assure you we won’t,” Cornyn told the outlet on Thursday morning.
Specifically, the concerns have to do with the once-proposed anti-weaponization fund and IRS audits, according to CNN.
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Asked Sen. John Cornyn why he thinks DOJ hasn’t made the written assurance on audits and killing $1.8B fund that he has been demanding.
“Maybe they think they can roll me.”
Can they roll you?
Cornyn: “No.”
He’s soon meeting with Grassley to sort out whether tomorrow’s vote… pic.twitter.com/p7z7ED9v1W
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 29, 2026
Trump said he believed the confirmation process had been smooth sailing.
“I haven’t heard that there’s a problem. I heard he’s going through quite nicely,” Trump told Townhall in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
🚨Trump reacts to Cornyn’s hesitancy to support Blanche confirmation:
“Todd Blanche is outstanding […] Maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn’t endorse him.”@cameron_arcand pic.twitter.com/irvItYFtdL
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
However, regarding Cornyn’s ultimatum, Trump said that maybe John Cornyn is upset” that he didn’t get his endorsement in the Texas Senate Republican primary, in which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won.
Blanche took over for then-Attorney General Pam Bondi in the spring, and he used to be the president’s private attorney.
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