Tillis says Blanche won't be confirmed as AG amid Trump fund fight
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Newsletters Axios Local Show Axios Pro Axios Live The Axios Show Login Axios All topics Axios Search Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy Tillis says Blanche won't be confirmed as AG amid Trump fund fight Ben Berkowitz , Avery Lotz email (opens in new window) sms (opens in new window) facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) bluesky (opens in new window) Add Axios on Google Add Axios as your preferred source to
Add Axios on Google Attorney general nominee Todd Blanche. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Thom Tillis said Saturday morning that new comments by President Trump about his "anti-weaponization" fund mean that attorney general nominee Todd Blanche won't be confirmed by the Senate next week.
Why it matters: Tillis's comment escalates the fight between the White House and holdout Senate Republicans over whether Trump's fund — for people he considers victims of political persecution — is dead or not.
What they're saying: " Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against," Tillis (R-N.C.) posted to X.
For the record: The White House referred Axios to the president's Truth Social post when asked for comment.
The big picture: The "anti-weaponization" fund has been the red line for Tillis and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). The lawmakers have refused to vote for Blanche until the DOJ put into writing that aspects of the deal aren't moving forward .
Yes, but: Earlier Saturday, Trump posted to Truth Social that if Tillis and Cornyn weren't going to vote for Blanche, he would maintain Blanche as acting attorney general and revive a bill to establish the fund.
Background: The president on Thursday floated withdrawing Blanche's name and keeping him on in an acting capacity until Cornyn and Tillis leave the Senate this January.
The bottom line: The fights over Blanche, the fund, and Trump's influence over Senate Republicans are converging, with no clear end in sight.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.
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