Trump to Suspend Nomination of Blanche? Will He Ever Be Approved?

Trump threatens to wait until next year for his Attorney General pick.

Truth Social: Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time. However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting. Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention. I have 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. President DONALD J. TRUMP

Jul 30, 2026, 9:15 AM

STAR Definition

Blanche is a STAR because he will not release the Epstein files as signed into law by Trump and ordered by the courts.

He is a STAR because he will prosecute revenge cases demanded by Trump regardless of merit.

Blanche is a STAR because he will do whatever trump wants no matter how illegal or unconstitutional.

If everyone knew Blanche was a star by any measure other than Trump’s insane definition, Republicans would have approved him long ago.

What’s Happening?

The multi-billion dollar fund was created as a part of a settlement agreement where President Donald Trump agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns.

Last month, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would drop Trump’s proposed slush fund of $1.8 billion to compensate those Trump says were political victims.

In that group are people convicted of damaging government property in the January 6 Capitol riots.

Tillis and Cornyn asked Blanche to put that in writing. Blanche won’t because it’s a lie.

Understanding Trump’s Unusual Threat

New York Times: Trump’s threat is unusual, in two key respects.

First, there is no guarantee — given his own rapidly declining popularity — that Republicans will maintain their current majority or be willing to accede to his demands after the midterms.

Second, pulling Blanche’s nomination, even temporarily, would represent an extraordinary demonstration of his willingness to place survival of a deal to preserve a personal windfall over his desire to secure a Senate-confirmed nominee to head the Justice Department.

Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, told reporters he still believed that there was a possibility of advancing Blanche’s nomination out of committee as soon as next week. But he acknowledged it would require “a resolution on the issues that Senators Cornyn and Tillis raised.”

‘Wounded Bear’ Caucus

The Wall Street Journal Reports Trump Threatens to Pull Blanche Pick in Clash With ‘Wounded Bear’ Senators

Sens. John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) have threatened to oppose Blanche’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee unless the administration permanently and formally killed off a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”

In a social-media post Thursday, Trump said Cornyn and Tillis, “both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee.” Trump said he had “no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing,” and renominating him after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office at the start of 2027. He took no immediate action.

The antiweaponization fund was created in an agreement between Trump and his administration that ended a lawsuit filed by the president against the Internal Revenue Service. Lawmakers have worried that the fund could be revived and used to pay Trump allies and people who assaulted police officers when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The senators, part of what some lawmakers have dubbed the “wounded bear caucus” of Republicans leaving office after this year, also want changes to a Blanche order that ended pending tax audits against Trump and his businesses and appeared to provide sweeping protections to the president and his family against government investigations.

Cornyn and Tillis cited what they thought was progress in talks this week, but those negotiations appeared to collapse, with Trump signaling he wanted the senators to get in line without any concessions.

Cornyn told reporters that the senators and the administration had exchanged offers and believed they were making progress but that the landscape quickly changed. He said the talks were dead at least for the weekend, and he warned that there were other GOP senators who had reservations about the antiweaponization fund and audit settlement.

Blanche’s statements in the hearing offered a much more limited view of the protections than the written order, which applied to related parties, covered issues that could be pending and included any other government agencies. Cornyn and Tillis, acknowledging that passing legislation on the fund and audits would be difficult, were trying to get Blanche to put a version of his statements into writing or amended versions of the documents the administration released earlier this year.

In the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, Tillis and Cornyn voted against a Democratic effort to block the audit protections. Tillis said he was hopeful that good-faith discussions with Blanche would succeed. A few minutes later, Trump posted his statement.

Good-Faith Agreement with Trump Administration

Seriously?

Trump nixed that idea.

Sue Collins on the Slush Fund

Senator Collins challenged the legal authority of using the federal judgment fund—traditionally reserved for paying pre-existing, specific legal claims against the U.S. government—to pay out potential future claims that have not yet been brought.

This clash over the $1.8 billion fund is a primary reason why Republican Senators like John Cornyn and Thom Tillis have stalled Blanche’s formal nomination vote to permanently become the U.S. Attorney General.

Prediction markets think Collins is only 23 percent likely to approve Blanche.

Lisa Murkowski on the Slush Fund

Politico reports Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) remains undecided on Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General, keeping an open mind while pressing him on key issues, including his past role as Trump’s personal attorney, handling of the Epstein files, and a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

Wait Until When? Why?

Since Cornyn and Tillis are not going to do what Trump wants, So, Trump says he will wait.

But wait until when? For what purpose?

Tillis will be almost certainly be replaced by a Democrat. It’s highly likely Sue Collins will be replaced by a Democrat.

There is a reasonable chance Republicans lose the Senate. And my projection is Democrats take the Senate, but with only 55 percent confidence.

Essentially the Senate outcome is a tossup, for now. But watch Ohio and Texas. Either hands the Senate to Democrats in my political math.

My base case is Democrats pick up at least three Senate seats. If so, Republicans could not afford the loss of a single Republican vote.

Finally, if the Democrat pickup is exactly three, a vote for Blanche could come down to Murkowski. In practice, I would expect Blanche to be burnt toast on that outcome.

Blanche by August 30 Odds

The odds of Blanche being confirmed by the end of August just plunged to 13 percent.

Blanche by October 31 Odds

54 percent is too high. The Senate will be in election recess starting around October 5.

The only way Blanche is approved before the election is if Trump backs down on his slush fund.

The odds of Blanche’s approval before the election are nearly the same, but slightly less than the odds Trump is willing to put in writing an agreement to kill his slush fund.

The odds of approval after the election depend on midterm results.

With unfavorable election results, the odds of Blanche ever being approved are much less than the odds Trump is willing to put in writing an agreement to kill his slush fund.

Musical Triubute

That was a one-hit wonder but a great one. Love that tune.

Released in 1958 and based on the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” the song went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

They had a great sound, but not another hit.