The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on advancing Blanche's nomination on Tuesday. With the remaining Republican holdouts now on board, he is all but certain to receive a final vote.
Trump suggested that he could leave Blanche as acting attorney general for the next five months and then resubmit his nomination after Cornyn and Tillis leave in early January. Tillis announced his retirement last year, and Cornyn lost his GOP primary to a Trump-backed challenger. #Trump #Blanche #Attorneygeneral
‘Senators Cornyn and Tillis want written assurances ‘
Tillis declined to seek reelection while Cornyn lost his primary to the Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
For all their hesitancy about confirming Blanche, Cornyn and Tillis had no issue backing partisan picks made by Democrat presidents.
Senate Republican sources say that President Trump’s agenda for the rest of the year is in serious trouble, including a budget reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement operations through 2029, after tempers erupted at a meeting between GOP senators and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche last week. GOP senators say Trump has no chance of getting taxpayer money to fund construction of the White House ballroom and are warning that he will probably have to abandon or significantly reform his proposal to establish a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund if he wants the stalled budget reconciliation package to have any chance of passing before the midterm election. Read more:…
Senator Thom Tillis said he had received assurances from federal prosecutors that eased his concerns, setting the stage for a key committee vote on Kevin Warsh.