(Chuck Grassley — KIWA Staff Photo)
Washington, D.C. (RI) — President Donald Trump says he may temporarily withdraw his nominee for attorney general after Senator Chuck Grassley cancelled Thursday’s scheduled Judiciary Committee vote on Todd Blanche.
A Grassley spokesperson says two Republicans on the committee want written assurances from the Justice Department about Trump’s IRS settlement before they’ll support Blanche serving as attorney general permanently. The senators say they’ll only vote for Blanche if it’s clear a previously proposed $1.8 billion fund for victims of alleged Justice Department “weaponization” is formally abandoned. If either senator votes no, Blanche’s nomination would fail.
The two GOP holdouts are Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas.
Trump posted on Truth Social that he’s open to temporarily withdrawing Blanche’s nomination until both senators leave office at the end of the year. Cornyn replied online, saying Trump is mistaken if he believes only two Republican senators have concerns about the settlement provisions tied to Trump’s tax lawsuit.
