The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Todd Blanche's nomination to lead the Justice Department on a 12, 10 party-line vote Tuesday, clearing the way for a full Senate confirmation after weeks of Republican infighting over a controversial taxpayer fund and a Trump tax settlement.
Two Republican senators who had stalled the nomination over unresolved terms, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, dropped their objections after Blanche issued a written order scrapping the so-called "anti-weaponization fund" and narrowing the scope of an IRS audit immunity deal that had drawn bipartisan criticism. The full Senate, where Republicans hold a majority, is expected to vote on confirmation later this week.
Every Democrat on the committee voted no. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the panel's ranking Democrat, framed the opposition in personal terms, calling Blanche unfit for the job.
The path to Tuesday's vote was anything but smooth. AP News reported that the committee had postponed an earlier vote after Cornyn and Tillis withheld support, demanding written assurances about two elements of a legal settlement between President Donald Trump and the federal government.
The first was a proposed $1.776 billion fund, officially labeled an "anti-weaponization fund", meant to compensate people who claimed they were unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice. Critics warned the fund could funnel taxpayer money to Trump supporters convicted over the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Federal judges had separately blocked the fund.
The second was an audit immunity agreement shielding Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization from IRS scrutiny. That deal was part of a broader settlement tied to Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over what the president called the illegal disclosure of his tax records by an agency contractor. U.S. press reports estimated the settlement could help Trump avoid up to $100 million in past tax liabilities.
Cornyn made his frustration public before the deal came together. He told reporters the administration had resisted straightforward requests for clarity on both issues.
The Washington Examiner reported Tuesday's vote was scheduled for 9 a.m. after the holdouts reached a deal with the DOJ over the weekend.
Blanche's written order did two things: it formally terminated the anti-weaponization fund, and it stated that the audit immunity agreement would apply only "retroactively" to past tax years, not to future filings by Trump or his family. National Review noted that the DOJ's order provided a binding written interpretation limiting the IRS settlement's scope to the specific plaintiffs in the lawsuit, not a blanket shield.
That was enough for Cornyn and Tillis. But skeptics in both parties questioned whether the concessions had real teeth. Tillis himself acknowledged the limits of the deal.
As previously reported, Trump had even floated pulling Blanche's nomination entirely as the standoff dragged on, a sign of how seriously the White House took the Republican resistance.
"Could they create a new one? Sure, because the law allows it."
That was Tillis, speaking about the anti-weaponization fund. The fund was dead on paper. Whether it stays dead is another question.
Senator Tommy Tuberville was more blunt. He predicted the administration would revive the fund once Blanche was confirmed and the current Congress was out of the way: "He'll bring it back. He'll get Blanche in, and then, probably after this Congress, anyway, they'll do it."
Senate Democrats voted as a bloc against Blanche and used the hearing to argue he lacks the independence the job demands. Durbin led the charge.
Durbin told the committee:
"Todd Blanche has no business serving as our nation's chief law enforcement officer."
He went further, accusing Blanche of treating the Justice Department like a private law firm with one client.
"Mr Blanche continues to operate as the president's personal lawyer, treating the Justice Department like a law firm serving one client, the president."
Durbin's argument rested on Blanche's history with Trump. Before his nomination, Blanche served as Trump's personal defense lawyer. He represented the president in the New York hush money trial involving payments to adult film performer Stormy Daniels. He was also on Trump's legal defense team in two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith, one alleging Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House, and one alleging he sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election.
Blanche then helped negotiate the legal settlement between Trump and the government, the same settlement that created the anti-weaponization fund and the audit immunity deal. After Trump fired Pam Bondi in April, Blanche stepped in as acting attorney general.
Democrats also raised concerns about Blanche's handling of investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom the source described as a one-time associate of Trump. The specific nature of those concerns was not detailed in committee proceedings covered by reporting on the vote.
Durbin's framing, that the attorney general is "supposed to be the people's lawyer", is a standard Democratic talking point whenever a Republican president nominates someone with close personal ties to the White House. It landed with every Democrat on the panel. It landed with zero Republicans.
The 12, 10 vote reflected a committee split along pure party lines. No Republican broke ranks. No Democrat crossed over. The outcome was never in doubt once Cornyn and Tillis signaled they were satisfied with Blanche's written order.
Blanche had reportedly called the anti-weaponization fund "a mistake" in a private meeting with Durbin, a concession that may have softened some criticism but did nothing to change the Democratic vote count.
Just The News reported that the committee had rescheduled the vote to Tuesday morning after the earlier postponement. With the committee hurdle cleared, the full Senate is expected to take up Blanche's confirmation later this week. Republicans hold the majority, and no GOP senator has publicly indicated plans to vote against him on the floor.
If confirmed, Blanche would take over a Justice Department that has been at the center of intense political conflict for years, from the Jack Smith investigations to the IRS lawsuit to the anti-weaponization fund. His critics say he is too close to the president to run the department independently. His supporters say he is exactly the kind of lawyer who understands how the DOJ was misused and can set it right.
The broader fight over the anti-weaponization fund and the IRS settlement is not over. Federal judges have already weighed in against both. Tillis and Tuberville both acknowledged, in different ways, that the fund could return in a new form. The written order Blanche issued may have been enough to win the committee vote, but whether it holds as permanent policy is an open question.
Democrats spent the hearing arguing that Blanche would serve Trump instead of the country. Republicans spent it making sure the deal they struck would stick. The confirmation vote will tell us which side had the better read on the moment, but the real test comes after the title is official and the courtroom lights are on.
