Two Republican senators who had threatened to block Todd Blanche’s permanent appointment as attorney general announced on Monday, August 3rd, 2026, that they will support his nomination after Blanche provided written confirmation that a planned $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" benefiting Donald Trump’s allies would be terminated.

The US Senate judiciary committee is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, on whether to approve Blanche’s nomination and send it to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Blanche is currently serving as acting attorney general.

Outgoing senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who have frequently clashed with Trump over the past year, stated their concerns were resolved following a "successful negotiation of a legally enforceable document" released by Blanche late Sunday. This document formally ends the $1.8 billion fund and clarifies that Trump and his family will not receive indefinite protection from audits of future tax filings.

The fund and the scope of Trump’s immunity from tax audits stemmed from a settlement agreement in a lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the unauthorized leak of his tax returns. A US federal judge overseeing the lawsuit criticized the arrangement, noting that the Department of Justice (DoJ) did not make a good faith effort to defend the government and suggested it was a collusive effort to benefit the president.

In a joint statement, Cornyn and Tillis said, "We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund. Additionally, the department has acknowledged in a 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, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share. We look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate judiciary committee soon."

Just days earlier, Trump had defended the fund and threatened to "push hard" to legislate for it.

Sources