Donald Trump has threatened to temporarily withdraw the nomination of Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer and current acting attorney general, amid resistance from Republican senators in the US Congress.

Blanche's confirmation hearing was postponed late on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, after key Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina refused to support his permanent appointment. Cornyn stated he would not back Blanche without written confirmation that a previously planned $1.8 billion slush fund for the president's allies was permanently canceled.

Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday, July 30, 2026, to praise Blanche, calling him a "STAR" with the potential to be "one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time." He criticized Cornyn and Tillis, whom he said he refused to endorse and whose political careers he claimed to have ended, for blocking Blanche's confirmation. Trump declared he had "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."

Cornyn and Tillis are seeking explicit, written proposals to modify the settlement deal reached earlier this year between the IRS and Trump and his family, particularly to eliminate the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund and alter Trump's audit immunity provisions. Negotiations remain ongoing, but the senators have yet to receive the changes they want.

Blanche requires unanimous Republican support on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Cornyn's vote, to advance his nomination for a permanent role.

Trump also noted that both Cornyn and Tillis previously voted for Merrick Garland and other nominees, highlighting their opposition to Blanche as significant.

Sources