Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Aug. 3 released a joint statement saying they will back acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be the next attorney general on a permanent basis.
In a statement, the pair said they struck a deal to end the “anti-weaponization fund” that was set up by Blanche under a settlement between President Donald Trump and the IRS. Their support eliminates a key hurdle in advancing Blanche.
Blanche said over the weekend that he issued an order to end the fund, which the two senators acknowledged.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” the joint statement said. “Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS, and the Treasury.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that the committee is ready to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Aug. 4, praising the acting attorney general as the “right pick” for the United States.
Previously, the two Republican senators threatened Blanche’s bid to lead the Justice Department over the $1.77 billion fund, which would be used to compensate people who suspect they were unfairly prosecuted by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Cornyn and Tillis, who both sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had said they would not support Blanche’s nomination without written confirmation that the fund is dead.
“We have enjoyed good faith discussions, and as a result issue the following order and update with regard to the May IRS settlement,” he wrote.
The DOJ said the order also narrows the scope of a separate order issued on May 19—which gave Trump, his family members, and his affiliates immunity from past tax liability—by stating that it applies “only retroactively.”
“No members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid. Nevertheless, several frivolous lawsuits have been filed challenging the fund, and at least one court has declined to dismiss those claims as moot,” the order also said. “This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no fund.”
Last month, Blanche was questioned by Cornyn during a Senate confirmation hearing about the fund.
“Has there been a written agreement of the parties to modify the settlement fund?” he asked Blanche in mid-July.
In response, Blanche told the senator: “No, the settlement fund is not moving forward. There is no modification. It never started ... it’s not moving forward.”
Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney, was named as acting attorney general after former Attorney General Pam Bondi stepped down from the role earlier this year. He had served as deputy attorney general before Bondi left her position.
Cornyn lost his Republican primary after Trump endorsed his GOP opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, earlier this year. Tillis confirmed in 2025 that he will retire at the end of his term, which ends in January 2027.
The offices of Cornyn and Tillis have not responded to an Epoch Times request for comment on Monday.
