Trump May Pause Todd Blanche Nomination as GOP Senators Object to IRS Settlement
President Trump’s effort to install Todd Blanche as attorney general has run into a serious Republican roadblock, with Trump now suggesting he may temporarily withdraw the nomination rather than accept demands from GOP senators over a Justice Department settlement tied to his IRS lawsuit.
The immediate conflict centers on Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, whose support Blanche needs to move through the Senate Judiciary Committee. The L.A. Times reported that a confirmation vote was canceled after Republican objections, while AP reported that the objections involve written assurances over a now abandoned compensation fund and protections connected to IRS audits.
The stakes are larger than a personnel fight. Blanche is Trump’s former personal lawyer and currently serves as acting attorney general. That makes the confirmation battle a direct test of how much independence Senate Republicans are willing to demand from the Justice Department when the disputed matter involves the president’s own legal interests.
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Cornyn and Tillis have not simply joined Democratic opposition. Their objections create an internal Republican obstacle that Trump cannot dismiss as a partisan blockade. Without their support, Blanche’s committee path remains uncertain.
Trump’s fallback is to pause the nomination and potentially resubmit it later. That may preserve Blanche’s role inside the department for now, but it also keeps the controversy alive and leaves the Justice Department’s leadership under a cloud of unresolved Senate resistance.
The next question is whether the administration provides written assurances that satisfy Republican holdouts or chooses delay, keeping Blanche in place while postponing the confirmation fight.
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