Republican Sens. John Cornyn (TX) and Thom Tillis (NC) announced they will vote to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to the Senate floor.
“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” the senators said in a joint statement.
The Senate Judiciary Committee canceled last Thursday’s vote to advance the nomination after Cornyn and Tillis voiced opposition.
Cornyn and Tillis sought assurances regarding an IRS settlement involving President Donald Trump.
Trump even said he would consider temporarily withdrawing Blanche’s nomination until after Cornyn and Tillis leave office in January.
Late Sunday night, Blanche disclosed that he withdrew the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
The two senators also revealed the DOJ limited the scope of the audit settlement by not extending “beyond the defendants in the lawsuit.”
“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,” confirmed Natalie Yezbick, Cornyn’s spokesperson.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Blanche during an early Tuesday meeting.
But will Cornyn and Tillis vote for Blanche on the Senate floor? I have my doubts about Tillis, who kept changing the goalposts.
In April, he threatened not to vote for Trump’s pick if they watered down the January 6 investigation.
Next, Tillis warned Blanche he wouldn’t vote for him until he met with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.
Then Tillis made it all about the IRS settlement. What’s next with this guy? I’m sure he’ll find something to dig up during the confirmation vote.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY