Overview
- The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a planned markup after Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis withheld their support, a delay confirmed in reports late Wednesday.
- Cornyn and Tillis are demanding written assurances that the proposed roughly $1.8 billion “anti‑weaponization” fund is permanently ended and that tax‑audit protections in the DOJ–IRS settlement are narrowed.
- President Trump said he might temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination and refile it after the two senators leave office, while Blanche continues to serve as acting attorney general under existing rules that limit acting service.
- Senate and DOJ staff have been trading red‑lined language but Cornyn says the Justice Department has not provided written terms he finds sufficient to match Blanche’s sworn testimony.
- With the Senate headed into an August recess and unified Democratic opposition on the committee, the standoff raises the prospect that Blanche’s confirmation could be delayed into September and deepen GOP divisions over Justice Department independence.