Trump's latest move may have just sunk his attorney general nominee, GOP senator says
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's push to install Todd Blanche as attorney general has hit a new obstacle after one of the Senate Republicans blocking the nomination declared that Blanche is now unlikely to be confirmed next week.
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… https://t.co/OSoFTAKUkE
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) August 1, 2026
Sen Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Trump's latest defense of the administration's controversial anti-weaponization fund appears to have reversed earlier assurances that the program was dead, escalating a standoff that has shifted from a policy disagreement into a direct threat to Trump's nominee. Blanche, Trump's former criminal defense attorney, has been awaiting Senate confirmation as Republicans negotiate the fate of the disputed fund.
Tillis says votes are now missing
Tillis dramatically raised the stakes Saturday by publicly declaring that Blanche's confirmation has effectively stalled.
The North Carolina Republican said Trump's latest comments suggested the administration intends to revive the anti-weaponization fund despite previous statements indicating it had been abandoned.
“It's unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal,” Tillis wrote on X, adding that he hopes the dispute can be resolved by Tuesday.
His comments represent the clearest indication yet from a Republican holdout that Blanche's nomination no longer has the votes to advance on schedule.
Trump reignites funding dispute
The confrontation intensified after Trump defended the controversial fund in a Truth Social post.
President Trump’s insistence that his anti-weaponization fund is not only not going away, but now he wants LEGISLATION to codify it, is exactly why Senators Cornyn and Tillis wouldn’t take Todd Blanche’s word for it: pic.twitter.com/9yLxxdX0et
— Julie Tsirkin (@news_jul) August 1, 2026
The president argued the fund was intended to compensate Americans whose lives had been damaged by what he describes as political persecution under the Biden administration.
Trump also suggested Sen John Cornyn's opposition may have become personal after Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in Cornyn's Republican primary.
While the Justice Department and Blanche have previously said the fund was no longer moving forward, Tillis argued Trump's latest remarks signaled a reversal that reopened concerns among Senate Republicans.
White House faces growing pressure
The latest dispute leaves the White House facing an increasingly difficult political calculation.
Republicans including Tillis and Cornyn have repeatedly stressed that they view Blanche as qualified but want legally enforceable assurances that the fund cannot return in its current form.
That means the nomination is no longer being held up primarily by questions about Blanche himself.
Instead, Trump's own defense of the controversial program has become the central obstacle.
Unless the White House convinces skeptical Republicans that the fund is permanently off the table, the administration's effort to secure a Senate-confirmed attorney general could remain stalled despite broad GOP support for the nominee.
