Senate appears ready to advance Blanche after Cornyn strikes deal

The Senate appears ready to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to be the next attorney general after Sen. John Cornyn struck a deal to formally end the “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate President Donald Trump‘s political allies.

A spokeswoman for Cornyn, R-Texas, confirmed the deal Monday in a statement to CNBC.

“Sen. Cornyn 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 spokesperson, Natalie Yezbick, said.  

Blanche, who is the acting attorney general, posted a set of documents overnight that he said were formally ending the fund that had ground his nomination to a halt. Senators on the Judiciary Committee, including Cornyn and Sen Thom Tillis, R-N.C., had warned the fund could result in payouts to violent rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and vowed to block Blanche until it was dead.

The documents showed Blanche had formally rescinded the order that created the fund in May, while clarifying aspects of the May settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service that created the fund.

The DOJ also clarified aspects of that deal, which created broad immunity from tax audits for the president and members of his family.

The documents say the settlement applies “only retroactively,” meaning it would not protect the president and his family indefinitely from audit. The DOJ also said the order would affect “named parties” in Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, including on release of any claims.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday after delaying a previously planned vote due to concerns about the fund.