GOP Holdouts Fall in Line for Blanche After AG Nominee Scraps 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'
Senators Cornyn and Tillis end their opposition once Todd Blanche rescinds a disputed payout mechanism for Trump allies
By Nathaniel "Beltway" Steele
Todd Blanche's path to confirmation as attorney general cleared this week after two Republican holdouts, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said they would back him.
The reversal came after Blanche issued a formal order rescinding what had been called an "anti-weaponization fund" — a mechanism critics said could have funneled payouts to allies of President Trump who claimed they were targeted by prior investigations, according to CBS News. NBC News reported the two senators cited Blanche's move as the reason they dropped their opposition.
The deal removes the last visible obstacle to Blanche's confirmation. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, discussing the episode alongside the administration's shifting posture on Iran, said the through-line was "contradiction and contortion" — an assessment offered as analysis, not fact, and worth weighing against the record once the vote is final.
What remains unclear from the available reporting: the exact size and structure of the fund Blanche rescinded, and whether any payments had already been made before the order. Those are the footnotes worth chasing before this story is closed.
The Senate has not yet taken a confirmation vote as of this writing; both CBS and NBC frame Cornyn and Tillis's support as removing the final procedural hurdle rather than completing confirmation.
— Compiled from reporting by CBS News and NBC News.
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