Trump Threatens Senate: If New Attorney General Nomination Not Approved, Push "Anti-Weaponization Fund" Legislation
2026/08/02 00:01 — Compiled by Zhang Peiyuan / Comprehensive Report
U.S. Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche's nomination will be voted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the 4th. (AP file photo)
The nomination of Todd Blanche, President Trump's pick for new U.S. Attorney General, is set for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the 4th. However, because some Republicans have been blocking Blanche's permanent confirmation, Trump said on the 1st that if Blanche's nomination doesn't pass, he will remain acting attorney general, but he will push for legislation for an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" that some congressional Republicans oppose and that he had previously agreed to shelve.
Republican Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis have been blocking Blanche's confirmation and seeking written assurances that the Justice Department will not establish an "Anti-Weaponization Fund." The DOJ claims the fund is meant to "compensate many people who have suffered enormous abuse, injury, and injustice," but Trump's critics say the fund is essentially a "bribery fund" using taxpayer money to reward Trump allies, benefiting Trump supporters who are entangled in legal troubles related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The "Anti-Weaponization" fund originated from Trump's lawsuit against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for leaking his tax returns, seeking $10 billion in damages. The lawsuit eventually ended in a settlement between Trump and the DOJ, with one term of the settlement being the establishment of the "Anti-Weaponization" fund; however, due to opposition from some congressional Republicans, the fund's establishment has been shelved.
Trump posted on Truth Social on the 1st, first praising Blanche, then threatening:
If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren’t going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obuma!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED. Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Trump said on the 1st in a social media post that he first praised Blanche, then warned that if Cornyn and Tillis continue not to support the nomination, he would "vigorously push to get the Anti-Weaponization Act passed (in Congress)." This is another example of Trump's dramatic reversal and inconsistency, because on July 31, Trump said the $1.8 billion (about NT$58.156 billion) fund was already "dead."
Tillis also pointed this out in a post on X on the 1st, saying that because of Trump's reversal, Blanche's nomination may be difficult to approve. "Even though the president said yesterday the fund was dead, President Trump apparently intends to revive this slush fund for thugs (referring to the Anti-Weaponization Fund) by creating another fake fund or pushing a vote on a bill opposed by a majority of Senate Republicans."
But even if the two sides remain deadlocked, as long as the nomination remains pending in the Senate and has not been rejected or withdrawn, Blanche can continue to sit at the Justice Department as acting attorney general even if not permanently confirmed.
Trump has previously said he could wait until Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year before submitting Blanche's nomination to the Senate. Both will leave office in January next year; Cornyn lost in the Republican primary earlier this year to a candidate backed by Trump and thus could not seek re-election, while Tillis said last year he would not seek re-election.
