WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President said Thursday he may pull for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans demanding limits to a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family that Trump negotiated with his own Department of Justice.
Trump doubled down on choosing his former personal lawyer as the nation鈥檚 top lawman, calling him 鈥渁 STAR鈥� and saying he will keep him in the role as acting attorney general until Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina leave office.
鈥淚 have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd鈥檚 name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office,鈥� Trump posted on his social media site.
Cornyn and Tillis, who both leave office next year, have said they won’t back Blanche’s nomination without additional assurances in writing about the controversial against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns.
In a social media post responding to Trump鈥檚 suggestion that he may pull Blanche鈥檚 nomination, Cornyn wrote that the president is 鈥渕istaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether they think they can wait us out or we鈥檒l cave, but I assure you we won鈥檛,鈥� Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee was forced to scrap a planned vote for Thursday to advance Blanche鈥檚 nomination after the Justice Department and the Republican senators failed to reach a resolution despite hours of negotiations. With all Democratic senators opposed, just one Republican holdout on the committee could sink Blanche鈥檚 chances for confirmation.
The settlement included the creation of a meant to pay Trump allies who believe they were wronged by the Justice Department that was scrapped after bipartisan outrage about the . Officials have said that another piece of the settlement 鈥� granting Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits 鈥� remains in place.
Through Blanche has repeatedly insisted that the 鈥淎nti-Weaponization fund鈥� is dead, skeptical lawmakers have pushed for a commitment in writing 鈥� especially since Trump has expressed continued support for the idea.
A crucial sticking point appeared to be the settlement’s audit immunity provision that said the U.S. government is 鈥渇orever barred and precluded鈥� from scrutinizing or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization鈥檚 current and past tax examinations. Cornyn and Tillis are pressing Trump’s administration to modify the agreement to make clear that it covers only existing audits and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.
Tillis characterized the president鈥檚 position as 鈥渨in a battle, lose a war.鈥�
鈥淚t makes no sense to me,鈥� Tillis told reporters Thursday. 鈥淭his is not popular. The president鈥檚 not winning on this issue. It is killing some of our candidates because they can鈥檛 explain it. And now, it looks like they weren鈥檛 being honest when they said it was inoperative.鈥�
While the majority of Republican senators oppose the settlement, the main pushback to Blanche has come from Cornyn, who lost his seat earlier this year when Trump opposed him in a GOP primary. Trump has also frequently targeted Tillis, who announced last year that he would not run for re-election and has criticized the administration over the pardons of Jan. 6 rioters and other matters.
Through it would be politically embarrassing for the Trump administration, pulling Blanche鈥檚 nomination would likely have little practical impact on the management of the Justice Department.
Blanche can still lead the department as either acting attorney general or deputy attorney general, the No. 2 post he was confirmed to last year. The deputy attorney general, who runs the day-to-day operations of the law enforcement agency, is able to perform the duties of the attorney general if that post is vacant.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether they think they can wait us out or we鈥檒l cave, but I assure you we won鈥檛,鈥� Cornyn said Thursday of the Trump administration.
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Associated Press reporter Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.
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