Cornyn says there’s no deal on Blanche AG nomination: ‘They know what they have to do’– thehill.com
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Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday said there is still not a deal with the Trump administration that would pave the way for him to vote for Todd Blanche’s nomination to serve as attorney general, which could result in Blanche getting stuck in the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Fake news alert: there is no ‘deal’ on…
JUST IN: Two GOP Senators Block Confirmation Of Trump AG Nominee Todd Blanche– trendingpoliticsnews.com
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its scheduled Thursday vote on the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general after Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) indicated that they would vote against advancing the nomination out of committee.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced the decision late Wednesday night after a wild day of back-and-forth between the committee and the two dissenting senators.
“Chairman Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement. 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,” a spokesman for Grassley’s office said in a statement.
Both Tillis and Cornyn have for weeks raised concerns related to a settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and Trump stemming from a lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service.
As part of the settlement, the Justice Department established a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund intended to compensate individuals who were subje
Trump denounces Justice Department decision to drop Reflecting Pool charges | Donald Trump News– www.aljazeera.com
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United States President Donald Trump has criticised his own Department of Justice after it decided to drop criminal charges against a former Olympic athlete for the alleged vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC.
Trump voiced his opposition to the decision on Saturday, a day after US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced she was dismissing the charges against 67-year-old competitive canoeist David Hearn.
Trump poses ultimatum on Blanche, will push for “anti-weaponization fund” if AG not confirmed – CBS News– news.google.com
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Blanche withdraws Trump fund plan in writing, ahead of AG confirmation vote– www.bbc.co.uk
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Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally withdrawn President Donald Trump’s plan for a fund that could have been used to compensate people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot by Trump’s supporters in 2021.
The move clears the way for Blanche to be confirmed by US senators to his job on a permanent basis.
Trump’s Republican Party previously lacked the votes for this to happen because a pair of senators were not sufficiently satisfied by verbal assurances from Blanche that the planned fund was dead.
In a post on X late on Sunday, external, Blanche said he had “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions”.
Cornyn and Tillis Will Support Blanche for Attorney General, but Only at Cost of Key Fund – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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Unfortunately, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sacrificed the Anti-Weaponization Fund to help victims of Biden-era federal attacks in order to secure support for Donald Trump’s attorney general pick.
While Democrats always cultishly vote for every wacko and criminal a Dem president nominates, Republicans too often take delight in thwarting their party’s goals and defying their constituents. It is frankly disgusting that Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) demanded the DOJ give up on putting through the Anti-Weaponization Fund. First, the Democrats arrested, spied upon, and jailed thousands of Americans for political reasons. Then Senate Republicans ensured that the victims had no funds for obtaining redress and justice.
Cornyn—who, thank God, will be out of the Senate next year—could be engaging in these petty games just to give the finger to Donald Trump, as Trump endorsed Ken Paxton in the Texas GOP Senate primary. Cornyn lost to Paxton, who is much more hardcore MAGA.
Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund has become a roadblock for his attorney general nominee– www.washingtontimes.com
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President Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund has become the chief stumbling block to Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, with key Republicans saying they cannot let him be approved until the $1.776 billion idea is fully eradicated.
Mr. Blanche has told lawmakers that the fund is dead and he will not release any of the money.
Still, senators said the language of the deal, which Mr. Blanche signed off on as acting attorney general, could leave wiggle room for Mr. Trump to ask a court to enforce it.
One of those Republicans, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said he would hold up any action until either Mr. Blanche renegotiates the settlement to make clear that the fund is expunged or Congress passes legislation to firmly nullify the fund.
“We need to have a fork stuck in the 1776 fund,” Mr. Tillis told reporters. “I want a renegotiated agreement that ends this forever. That is final.”
The senator said the Justice Department is negotiating on the matter.
Lisa Murkowski is undecided on Blanche’s confirmation. Her state is getting a windfall from DOJ.– www.politico.com
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The Justice Department has been lavishing nine-figure policy wins on Alaska — and openly touting what a “huge” time it’s been for the state — as attorney general nominee Todd Blanche is scrambling to lock down support for his confirmation from its senior senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski.
A July 7 settlementover the federal government’s unfinished work on the port of Alaska resulted in a $180 million payout to Anchorage — an announcementBlanche, who is currently the acting attorney general, made personally during a two-day visit. The Justice Department shared news around the same time it had dropped Biden-era lawsuits related to Alaska’s energy production.
Then on Tuesday, the administration inked a $400 million settlementwith a group that administers health care programs for American Indians and Alaska natives.
“The wins keep coming for the American people in Alaska,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward declared last week, after announcing yet another win for the state: a $6.1 million award to tribal governments to combat violent crime.
Those developments all coincide with Blanche’s effort to court Republican senators to vote for his nomination as he deals with blowback over the botched release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he oversaw as deputy attorney general, followed by the launch of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” — which he has since said is dead.
