Todd Blanche's Nomination Takes Major Step Forward After Clearing Senate Judiciary Committee Vote
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
The final tally was 12-10 along party lines, which will likely set up a final vote on the Senate floor later this week, Politico reported.
The bottleneck at the committee level was broken when Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina threw their support behind Blanche after the acting attorney general signed an agreement confirming the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advances Todd Blanche’s nomination in a party-line vote and Grassley ends the hearing pic.twitter.com/vjGiGYTUUf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, noted ahead of the vote that Cornyn and Tillis’ concerns about the fund “and the IRS settlement were shared by many, including this senator.” He added that the changes Blanche made “put this issue to bed once and for all,” according to Politico.
“It’s just common sense… I don’t think it should have taken as long as it did to get it resolved,” he added.
🚨WATCH: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) backs the Republican senators who threatened to withhold support from Todd Blanche over the DOJ’s “anti-weaponization fund.”
“It’s just common sense … I don’t think it should have taken as long to get it resolved as it did.” pic.twitter.com/txEb7UYxXB
— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) August 4, 2026
President Donald Trump wanted the anti-weaponization fund established to compensate those unfairly targeted by the Biden DOJ. The money would have come from a $1.776 billion settlement agreement between Trump and his family for the Internal Revenue Service unlawfully leaking his tax returns.
Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, cast doubt on whether the deal Cornyn and Tillis struck with Blanche is enforceable in court.
“To state the obvious, Mr. Blanche’s statement on the slush fund and the IRS immunity agreement are not signed by the parties to the settlement agreement and are therefore unenforceable,” Durbin said, according to Politico.
“The parties could still sue to enforce the agreement, and the cop-beaters fund can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general.”
Cornyn told reporters after the vote, “The weaponization fund is dead. We pointed out the Justice Department represented that to numerous courts.”
“As to the idea that it could be revived in the future, I think it’s highly unlikely that could happen without the cooperation of the Department of Justice. And I think Mr. Blanche gave us the assurances that it was dead and would not be revived, and in this case we have no alternative but to take his word for that,” he added.
Cornyn: “As to the idea it could be revived in the future, I think it’s highly unlikely that could happen without the cooperation of the DOJ. And I think Mr Blanche gave us the assurances that it was dead and would not be revived and in this case we have no alternative but to… pic.twitter.com/LBhJTh2KNG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 4, 2026
The Hill reported that it is unclear whether the full Senate will successfully vote to confirm Blanche.
Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for re-election in left-leaning Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have not said whether they’ll back him.
Additionally, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who lost his primary race to a Trump-endorsed rival, Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, and Sen. John Curtis of Utah have also declined to say how they plan to vote
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