Trump threatens to withdraw Todd Blanche's attorney-general nomination amid Senate dispute

President Donald Trump indicated on Thursday that he could withdraw Todd Blanche’s nomination for the permanent attorney-general post and re-file it after Republican Senators John Cornell and Thom Tillis depart from office next year. The move comes after the senators demanded written guarantees concerning a settlement that grants audit immunity to the president and his family and previously included a proposed $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies.

Cornell said the president was unwilling to accept the senators’ concerns, while Tillis warned that the administration was receiving “bad advice” and should honor the decision that the fund was dead. Both senators have said they will not support Blanche without additional assurances that the settlement’s audit-immunity provision applies only to existing audits and not future ones.

Blanche, who has served as acting attorney general since April, met with the two senators after Trump’s statement, and sources said the parties resumed collaborative talks. However, with all Democratic senators opposed and a single Republican holdout on the Senate Judiciary Committee able to block the nomination, Blanche’s confirmation remains uncertain.

If the nomination is withdrawn, Blanche could continue to lead the Justice Department as acting attorney general or as deputy attorney general, a role he was confirmed for last year that allows him to perform the chief attorney’s duties when the position is vacant.