Trump weighs withdrawing Blanche's nomination, risking a Senate gamble over Cornyn, Tillis
Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time. However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended… pic.twitter.com/gKeHh0yqBS
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) July 30, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump is considering withdrawing Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general amid pushback from GOP leaders, who are withholding their votes for Blanche unless the anti-weaponization fund is permanently dropped.
GOP holdouts like Texas Senator John Cornyn and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis have refused to back Blanche’s nomination until the Trump administration announces that it will permanently drop the anti-weaponization fund, announced in exchange for a lawsuit settlement between Trump and the IRS.
President Trump speaks on AG nominee Todd Blanche: "Todd Blanche is outstanding... Maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn't endorse him, I don't know what it is." pic.twitter.com/cHWjYrrRNZ
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 29, 2026
Trump mulls Blanche nomination withdrawal over GOP opposition
Trump, in a Truth Social post on Thursday, July 30, announced that he is contemplating dropping Blanche’s nomination as attorney general temporarily to bypass Cornyn and Tillis’s pressure.
Trump branded Blanche as a star who has the potential to become the greatest attorney general, but he is likely to remain acting because of Cornyn and Tillis.
“Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time,” Trump wrote in the post.
The president further signaled that Cornyn and Tillis are doing so because Trump didn't endorse them.
“John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting,” Trump added.
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.
“I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office,” he added.
Thom Tillis warns against waiting until next term
The danger with Trump’s strategy to hold Blanche as acting attorney general is that Republicans could lose control of the Senate in the midterm elections or lose enough seats to shrink their majority and jeopardize Blanche's eventual confirmation.
Tillis said on Thursday that Trump is “perfectly entitled” to hold Blanche’s nomination until after he leaves the Senate in January but warned that the move could blow up in Trump’s face if Senate Republicans lose seats or their majority.
“He’s perfectly entitled to do that; he just needs to game out what the numbers look like in the next Congress versus a willing group of people who wants to confirm him now if they do nothing more than follow up on what we all thought was true, that [the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund] is inoperative,” he said.
