A compromise reached between Todd Blanche, the acting U.S. attorney general, and Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and legal experts. The deal, which potentially clears the way for Blanche’s confirmation, involves withdrawing an 18 May order that allowed the creation of a $1.8 billion weaponization fund and clarifying that broad tax immunity granted to Donald Trump applies only retroactively to the president, his sons, and businesses.

Cornyn and Tillis announced their support for Blanche ahead of his Senate judiciary committee vote on Tuesday, praising the Department of Justice for formally terminating the anti-weaponization fund and limiting the audit settlement’s scope to the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.

However, critics argue the agreement is weak and easily reversible. Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center at NYU, stated, “These assurances are not worth the paper they’re written on. They don’t pull back on the ongoing attempts to give the president, his family, and his affiliates unauthorized immunity from tax audits.”

Democratic voices echoed this skepticism. Representative Raskin said, “These hollow words are an affront to the American people, Congress and the courts, and are clearly designed to lull Senators Cornyn and Tillis into a false sense that their legitimate concerns have been addressed while leaving Blanche’s misconduct scheme fully intact.”

California Democrat and Senate judiciary committee member Adam Schiff warned on X that the deal “doesn’t prevent payouts to violent insurrectionists in the future” nor stop the administration from reviving the slush fund or using the DOJ’s Judgment Fund for similar purposes.

Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Action, described the agreement as “completely hollow,” emphasizing that the terms of the original settlement cannot be changed without all parties’ consent.

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions over the handling of the fund and the limits of the current agreement amid Blanche’s confirmation process.

Sources