Overview
- The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a planned markup after Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis withheld support to press for written, enforceable changes to the May IRS settlement.
- Cornyn and Tillis want the Justice Department to permanently kill the roughly $1.7–$1.8 billion fund and to narrow broad IRS audit protections they say could cover the president, his family, and his businesses.
- President Trump suggested temporarily withdrawing Blanche’s nomination and keeping him as acting attorney general until the two senators leave office, while the DOJ and Cornyn publicly dispute how cooperative negotiations have been.
- The delay makes confirmation before the August recess unlikely and raises timing and legal questions about Blanche’s acting status under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.
- Beyond the immediate confirmation fight, the spat has sharpened concerns about Blanche’s independence because of his past work for the president and his role in negotiating the contested IRS settlement.