Senate committee backs Blanche's nomination
By: Aysha Bagchi
and Zacheary Schermele
USA Today
..... Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche won the support of a key Senate committee August 4 [2026] to be confirmed in his role permanently, but his pathway to approval from the full Senate isn't assured yet.
.....
The 12-10 Senate Judiciary Committee vote on party lines took place a day after Blanche's nomination got a major boost as Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina agreed to support him.
..... They did so after Blanche formally dropped a proposed $1,.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund and clarified limits to President Donald Trump's controversial immunity on tax issues.
..... "We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon," the two senators said in a joint statement August 3. [2026]
..... Both are leaving the Senate in January. [2027] Tillis chose not to run for reelection and Cornyn lost his primary to a Trump backed challenger.
..... Tillis had also said, on July 16, [2026] that he wouldn't provide his support until Blanche met with a group of women who have accused convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein of abuse. Blanche met with those women later that day, although several expressed disappointment following the meeting.
..... A voe from the full Senate could take place before the end of the week, when senators are scheduled to leave he capitol for an August recess.
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Trump nominated Blanche, his former personal criminal defense lawyer, for the permanent role in June, several weeks after firing Attorney General Pam Bondi. Blanche previous served as deputy attorney general.
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In his acting role, Blanche oversaw the Justice Department granting Trump and his two oldest sons immunity from any past tax liability and creating an anti-weaponizaiton fund that could have paid taxpayer dollars to Trump supporters who committed crimes during the Janurary6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
..... After bipartisan backlash, Blanche said the DOJ wouldn't move forward with the fund, which a federal judge has since also locked.
..... However, as his mid-July [2026] confirmation hearing, Blanche declined to put the change in writing. Cornyn told reporters on July 27 [2026] that Blanche still did not have his support because he DOJ had yet to "sufficiently" address his concern about modifying the IRS settlement agreement to formally kill the fund.
..... The two senators changed their stance after Blanche publicly shared written documents on the terms of Trump's IRS settlement. One document "rescinded" the order creating the anti-weaponzaiton fund. A second document said the tax benefits for the Trump family members and business will only apply retroactive to previous tax years, and won't benefit anyone beyond those Trump associates.
..... Blanche has already demonstrated in his acing role he's willing to push boundaries to advance Trump's agenda, and amid hurdles in the nomination process, the president continued to back his former lawyer. "Confirm Todd Blanche without delay," Trump posted on social media July 28. [2026]