Senator John Cornyn has said he will not back Todd Blanche’s nomination for US attorney general unless changes are made in writing to the settlement agreement President Donald Trump reached with his own administration.
The Texas Republican’s opposition could jeopardise Blanche’s confirmation ahead of a crucial Senate Judiciary Committee vote scheduled for Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Cornyn said he has been in discussions with Blanche and Justice Department officials but has yet to receive the written amendments he wants.
Among his demands are the formal removal of a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and tighter limits on tax audit immunity granted to Trump and members of his family.
Cornyn said the revised document must be signed by Blanche, although he stopped short of confirming whether Trump would also need to approve it.
“We’re talking about that. That hasn’t been fully resolved yet,” Cornyn said when asked whether Trump’s signature would also be required. “We’re still talking. I mean, there’s different ways to approach it.”
With Thursday’s committee vote approaching, Cornyn warned that time was running out for Blanche and the administration to meet his conditions.
Under Senate Judiciary Committee rules, opposition from a single Republican could derail the nomination.
The senator claimed Justice Department officials had so far been unwilling to make the changes.
At his confirmation hearing last week, Blanche insisted that the proposed payout fund would no longer move forward and argued that the tax audit protections were narrower than critics suggested.
However, Cornyn pointed to the wording of the settlement agreement, which states that it “may be modified only with the written agreement of the Parties.”
Blanche also admitted during the hearing that, without a written amendment, the proposed anti-weaponization fund could still be revived in the future.
“That’s what we’re trying to get them to agree to, which is again what his sworn testimony was,” Cornyn said. “So I don’t know why they’re so reluctant to do that.”
