President Trump says he may withdraw or delay Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche’s bid for a full-time confirmation, citing what he describes as a more favorable political calculation later in the Senate. Multiple outlets report Trump is weighing whether to hold the nomination until January, after dissenting senators’ terms end or after he determines the next steps will be easier to manage.
The nomination has stalled as two Republican senators—Thom Tillis and John Cornyn—have delayed advancing Blanche, according to reports. NBC and other outlets say the disagreement centers on a demand that the Justice Department commit, in writing, to end a nearly $2 billion compensation arrangement described as potentially linked to payments to Trump allies, often referred to as an “anti-weaponization” or similar fund. Trump and the administration have faced pressure to make concessions that the senators say are necessary before they will support the confirmation.
CBS and PBS report Trump signals the potential for pulling the nomination to avoid granting the concessions the senators are seeking. Separately, NBC reports that once Blanche scrapped the potential payouts connected to the compensation fund, the holdout senators ended their opposition and said they would support him as acting attorney general.
