President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to “push hard” to keep a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund active, amid an ongoing feud between two Republican senators and the Trump administration over the president’s nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general. “If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Todd Blanche was a voice of reason!
It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added. Sens.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are both departing Congress after feuding with Trump. In Texas, Cornyn ran for re-election, losing in a primary runoff to state Attorney General Ken Paxton after Trump endorsed Paxton. Tillis, in North Carolina, opted not to run for re-election, making his plans to retire public one day after drawing Trump’s ire for opposing a GOP-backed domestic policy package.
The two senators have partially conditioned their support for Blanche’s nomination on the Trump administration rescinding its plans for the fund, which would provide compensation for Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump for claims of government overreach. In a post on X following Trump’s statement Saturday, Tillis blamed the president for Blanche’s stalled confirmation.
“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,” he wrote. “It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday,” Tillis added.
Blanche’s nomination has been in jeopardy for several weeks, with Cornyn and Tillis previously saying that there are other Republican senators that share their concerns but don’t sit on the Judiciary Committee and wouldn’t have the chance to vote for or against Blanche until his nomination came to the floor. On Wednesday night, the committee postponed a vote on Blanche’s nomination because of Cornyn and Tillis’ concerns. On Friday, at a Cabinet meeting, the president defended the fund, saying , “It is dead, but you know, I wish it weren’t.” “This has nothing to do with Todd,” Trump added.
The anti-weaponization fund has been blocked indefinitely by a federal judge, but the Trump administration has not pledged to stop pursuing it. The fund was part of a settlement agreement that stemmed from a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS. Also part of that settlement was an agreement that made the president and several family members immune from IRS audits, another provision that Cornyn and Tillis have shared concerns about.
Earlier this week, the president threatened to withdraw Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it next year, after Tillis and Cornyn have left office. “Hey, in 158 days they can try it again, roll the dice on what the Senate confirmation process looks like next year,” Tillis told reporters at the Capitol after that threat. “It’s all on him.
Certainly within his authority to do that.” Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News. Julie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill and the White House.
