RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican senators who had threatened to block Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will support his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund to compensate allies of President Donald Trump. The endorsement from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis paves the way for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance Blanche's nomination on Tuesday following a deal to formally rescind the $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund" created as part of the settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche's bid for the permanent post without written confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department. The order, issued by Blanche late Sunday, came after days of negotiations between the Justice Department and the Republican senators who are leaving Capitol Hill when their terms end in January. “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," Cornyn, of Texas, and Tillis, of North Carolina, said in a statement. DOJ order says ‘beyond any doubt’ that fund is dead Blanche has repeatedly said that the Justice Department was scrapping the fund, which sparked bipartisan outcry over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments. But skeptical lawmakers had said they were concerned that could be revived without a commitment in writing, especially because Trump has continued to defend the idea. Blanche wrote in his order late Sunday that the department was confirming "beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.” Since the settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS was announced, “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid,” the order says. “This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.” Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed the Justice Department to limit the scope of a separate piece of the settlement that provided broad immunity for Trump and members of his family from tax audits. Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement “applies by its terms only retroactively” to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings. Cornyn, Tillis echo GOP colleagues' concerns as they blocked Blanche nomination Blanche’s nomination was thrown into doubt last week after the Judiciary Committee postponed a vote that had been scheduled for Thursday morning as Tillis and Cornyn said they needed more from the administration before they could provide the necessary votes. After the Thursday vote was delayed, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year. And on Saturday the president threatened to push forward with the fund if the two Republicans blocked Blanche's nomination. On Sunday evening, Trump said that people who had faced charges from the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol and could have benefited from the fund had “their lives destroyed.” “This would be a reimbursement for the pain that they suffered,” Trump said. “A lot of people like it.” Blanche, who served as Trump’s defense lawyer in his criminal cases, entered the Justice Department last year as deputy attorney general. He was elevated to the top post after Pam Bondi was fired in April by Trump, who was frustrated by her failure to successfully prosecute his political enemies. Though Blanche insisted he wasn’t auditioning for the permanent job, he has moved quickly since taking the reins of the department to promote the Trump administration’s agenda and accelerate investigations into the president’s perceived foes.
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