Blanche rescinds $1.8B fund to clear path for AG confirmation

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally killed the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" Sunday night, removing the final hurdle to his Senate confirmation.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" Sunday night, issuing a one-page order declaring it "shall have no force or effect" to clear his confirmation path.

"My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions," Blanche said in a social-media post. "We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order."

The Justice Department simultaneously released a separate document narrowing tax audit protections for President Donald Trump, his family, and his businesses — a second demand from holdout Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The tax audit immunity agreement now applies "only retroactively" to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings. Cornyn's office confirmed the agreement Sunday night; Tillis had no immediate comment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Blanche's nomination Tuesday. The fund and audit protections originated from a controversial settlement between Trump and his own administration that ended a lawsuit against the IRS over a contractor's illegal leak of his tax returns. Trump had threatened Saturday to push legislation to compensate his allies if Cornyn and Tillis didn't support Blanche, and suggested he could withdraw the nomination and reissue it after the senators leave office at the start of 2027.

The $1.8 billion fund faced intense blowback after it was announced May 18, including from other Republicans who questioned the legality of using Justice Department resources to compensate political allies. Blanche in the following weeks said the department was abandoning the fund, but he hadn't formally committed to it in writing until Sunday's release. The text of the deal creating the fund said it could be changed only with agreement of all parties who signed it, including the IRS, the Justice Department, and Trump in his personal capacity — leaving open whether the new commitments are legally binding.

Earlier Sunday evening, Trump said people who had faced charges from the Jan. 6, 2021, 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."

Confirmation fight exposes GOP rift

The standoff marked a rare public clash between Trump and Republican senators over a Cabinet nominee. Trump on Saturday called Cornyn and Tillis "rogue" for blocking the nomination, and his threat to pursue legislation for the fund raised questions about whether the issue would resurface even after Blanche's confirmation. The president also floated withdrawing the nomination and reissuing it after the senators leave office at the start of 2027.

Natalie Yezbick, Cornyn's spokesperson, said the senator "has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS."

The confirmation of a permanent attorney general carries significant implications for regulatory enforcement priorities across financial and corporate sectors. Blanche, who served as Trump's defense attorney in his criminal cases, has been acting in the role since the previous attorney general's departure. His confirmation would cement the administration's approach to federal law enforcement, including the Justice Department's posture on corporate investigations, financial fraud, and antitrust matters. The department's enforcement agenda under a confirmed Blanche could shape merger review, securities litigation, and regulatory oversight of banks and technology companies.

If confirmed, Blanche would become the permanent head of the Justice Department, overseeing federal prosecutions, regulatory enforcement, and civil litigation. The committee vote Tuesday will be the first test of whether the concessions are sufficient to secure the two Republican votes needed to advance his nomination.

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