By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) – Todd Blanche’s bid for Senate confirmation as U.S. attorney general faced a potential setback on Wednesday when Republican Senator John Cornyn cited unresolved concerns over a controversial $1.8 billion fund tied to Trump allies.
Cornyn’s concerns center on provisions of President Donald Trump’s settlement with his own administration, including a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” for Trump’s allies and an agreement that could give Trump and his associates protections from tax audits unavailable to ordinary taxpayers.
The dispute prompted Cornyn to cancel a meeting with Blanche ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote scheduled for Thursday, with the Texas Republican saying he was not prepared to support the nomination until the Justice Department provided written assurances addressing his concerns.
NOMINATION NEEDS EVERY REPUBLICAN VOTE IN COMMITTEE
Blanche, who served as Trump’s personal defense lawyer before his second term, is already serving as acting attorney general, but he needs the backing of every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance his nomination. Cornyn’s opposition could prove decisive.
“I’m not prepared to vote yes” on Blanche’s nomination, Cornyn told reporters.
For his part the Republican Trump told reporters that he had thought Blanche’s confirmation would be a routine process.
“Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him,” Trump said, referring to the senator having lost his primary runoff for another term to another Republican candidate endorsed by Trump. Cornyn later called that a “convenient excuse.”
Blanche submitted a proposal in writing on Wednesday to Cornyn and key Republicans that would “put the fund to bed,” according to a person familiar with the matter, referring to the $1.8 billion pot of money for Trump’s allies.
Cornyn canceled the meeting after he didn’t receive a document responsive to his concerns. He is open to meeting once he receives that, his spokesperson said.
Blanche told lawmakers in May that he could not commit to barring money from going to people who assaulted police officers, including during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot that sought to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss. But he later told lawmakers the fund was not moving forward.
The proposal would also clarify a related agreement signed by Blanche that gives Trump and his associates broad immunity from audits over his previous tax returns, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
“I haven’t seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I’ve requested,” Cornyn told reporters.
He said that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a 4 p.m. (2000 GMT) deadline on Wednesday for deciding whether to cancel Thursday’s meeting to vote on the Blanche nomination.
“There’s plenty of time to resolve this,” Cornyn said, although 4 p.m. came and went and no decision was announced. At about 6 p.m., Cornyn said he was still not a yes, but a resolution could happen quickly.
Both the tax immunity agreement and the weaponization fund emerged from a settlement agreement between Trump and his administration over the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service.
“I can see why he (Trump) wants it because it provides immunity from audits that no other taxpayer could possibly get,” Cornyn said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Wednesday that he thought Cornyn and the White House were talking to each other.
Cornyn and fellow Republican committee member Thom Tillis of North Carolina have expressed concern about Blanche’s role in creating the fund. Blanche needs both of their votes, and the votes of every other Republican on the committee, to advance the nomination to the full Senate.
Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday that his office sent the Trump administration his specific requests.
“They just need to make a decision,” he said. “And if they do, then we’ll proceed.”
(Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Richard Cowan; Editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller)
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