US Domestic — 2026-08-01

Tillis Says Attorney General Nominee Blanche Will Not Be Confirmed as Trump Revives Anti-Weaponization Fund Fight

BLUFBlanche's confirmation as Attorney General by August 31 is genuinely uncertain, as Trump's refusal to concede on the anti-weaponization fund in writing makes an indefinite acting arrangement the path of least resistance.

Sen. Thom Tillis said Saturday that attorney general nominee Todd Blanche "will not be confirmed" after President Trump signaled he intends to revive the "anti-weaponization fund," a roughly $1.8 billion pot tied to a settlement of Trump's IRS lawsuit that Trump had called dead as recently as Friday 12. In a Truth Social post, Trump said that if Sens. Tillis and Cornyn do not back Blanche, he will keep Blanche as acting attorney general and "push hard" to get an Anti-Weaponization Bill passed, adding "it will immediately be back on the table" 234. Tillis and Cornyn have withheld their Judiciary Committee votes pending written assurance the fund will not proceed; the committee has scheduled a confirmation vote for Tuesday 24. At a Camp David Cabinet meeting, Trump said the fund "is dead, but you know, I wish it weren't," while Blanche testified at his hearing that the settlement fund "is just not moving forward" and no money has moved from Treasury 2.

Analysis
Confirmation by August 31 is genuinely uncertain and turns on whether Trump gives Tillis and Cornyn written assurance the anti-weaponization fund is dead before Tuesday's Judiciary Committee vote; his same-day claim the fund "is dead" paired with a threat to revive it suggests he will not make that concession, raising the odds Blanche is held indefinitely as acting attorney general instead. Moderate confidence reflects that resolution hinges on private White House negotiations with two lame-duck senators, invisible in open reporting, though Axios's direct sourcing on both senators' and Trump's statements is corroborated independently by CBS, RedState, and GV Wire. Tillis's declaration that he will withhold his vote entirely marks a harder break than the earlier assurances-only standoff. The revival threat likely functions as leverage against the senators rather than genuine policy reversal, and confirmation would hand Blanche full statutory authority over DOJ fund decisions while continued acting status preserves the senators' leverage but leaves department leadership contested for months.

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