Trump Defends 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund as Blanche Attorney General Nomination Stalls in Senate
The Facts
- In a Truth Social post on Friday, July 31, Trump said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche "should be immediately approved" as US attorney general and defended the proposed "anti-weaponization" fund.
- The fund, valued at roughly $1.8 billion and cited by some outlets as $1.776 billion, was proposed by the Justice Department to compensate people Trump says were unfairly prosecuted, including January 6 defendants.
- Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have withheld support for Blanche's nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee and have sought written assurances that the fund will not be implemented or revived.
- Trump accused Cornyn of not objecting to the fund until after Trump endorsed his Republican primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won the nomination; Cornyn is leaving office after losing that primary.
- A day earlier, on July 30, Trump said he might temporarily withdraw Blanche's nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office.
- Blanche has served as acting attorney general since Pam Bondi left the post in April; sources differ on whether she was fired or stepped down.
- Blanche had previously said the fund was "dead" and the Justice Department told courts the program was abandoned; at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump also said the fund "is dead" while adding he wished it were not.
- The standoff carries a timing risk for the White House: Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, and Sen. John Kennedy warned that delaying the nomination into 2027 could backfire if Democrats gain seats or control in November's midterms.
Context
Where would the money for the fund come from?
According to The Guardian, the payout scheme would be created under agreements resolving a $10 billion lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service Guardian. The Atlantic similarly describes it as arising from a settlement between Trump and the IRS that would establish a $1.8 billion fund Atlantic. Raw Story characterizes it as taxpayer-funded Raw Story.
Why is the fund blocking a confirmation vote?
Blanche's nomination must clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Cornyn and Tillis have declined to advance it without written commitments from the Justice Department that the compensation program will be dropped and not revived CNN International,TODAY.com,Mediaite. Because Republicans hold a narrow committee and chamber majority, the two senators' objections are enough to stall the vote Hill.
What happens to the Justice Department while the nomination is stalled?
Blanche can continue serving as acting attorney general while his nomination remains pending Economic Times. Trump has floated pulling the nomination and resubmitting it in 2027, after Cornyn and Tillis leave office, though Sen. John Kennedy said that approach is risky because Senate control could change in the November elections CNN International,Hill.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Neither framing wants the $1.8 billion fund revived, and both treat the two senators' demand for a written assurance as a legitimate thing to ask.
- Where Left and Right split
- A president trying to turn public money into payments for his own allies, or senators using advice and consent while Justice runs under an acting head.
How left and right read it
Trump demanded Blanche's immediate confirmation Friday while defending the roughly $1.8 billion fund his Justice Department proposed to pay people he says were wrongly prosecuted, including January 6 defendants. Two Republican senators want that in writing. He would rather stall his own nominee than give it — and public money owed to the public is not a settlement fund for a president's allies.
“the president keeps blowing their talks, a sign he's willing to sacrifice his own handpicked nominee in order to preserve his crooked settlement.” — HuffPost
A $1.8 billion payout program — $1.776 billion by some counts — is real money, and two Republican senators asking in writing that it stay buried are doing precisely what advice and consent is for. Justice has run under an acting head since April. Trump himself now says the fund is dead; put that on paper, confirm Blanche, and quit timing nominations around who is leaving office.
“President Donald Trump unleashed more fury on a Senate Republican he worked to oust who is standing in the way of his personal lawyer becoming the next attorney general.” — Fox News
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