Republican Reversal: Blanche Nom Back On?

Sometimes putting something in writing makes all the difference. For weeks, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche couldn't get enough votes to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, forcing him to operate under an "acting" title while conducting the normal business of the Department of Justice. The holdup came down to two Republican holdouts — Senators John Cornyn and Tom Tillis — who wanted formal written assurances on two specific issues before they would support Blanche's confirmation. Late Sunday evening, they got what they asked for, and the logjam broke.

The Anti-Weaponization Fund and the IRS Settlement

The central dispute revolved around a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" that the Department of Justice had pitched as a way to pay out individuals who claimed to have been victimized by the Biden administration's prosecutions. The fund drew immediate and widespread pushback from both Democrats and Republicans. Blanche had previously stated publicly that the fund was "dead" and a "moot issue," telling senators directly: "The weapon fund is dead." But Cornyn and Tillis insisted on seeing that commitment in writing.