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By Amanda Castro
Associate News Editor
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A divided Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general on Tuesday, clearing the former Trump defense lawyer for a full Senate vote.
Republicans themselves acknowledged the Justice Department’s conduct under President Donald Trump has grown increasingly politicized, even as they voted to install the man overseeing that shift.
The decision sets up a consequential floor fight that could cement Blanche’s control of a department already reshaped to target Trump’s perceived enemies and shield his allies.
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The committee’s 12–10 party-line vote came after Blanche agreed to rescind a $1.8 billion compensation fund and narrow a tax‑audit immunity deal for Trump and his family, concessions that Republican holdouts said were necessary but still reversible.
“Maybe it’s a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one,” Senator Thom Tillis said, warning that the DOJ’s behavior was “bad” even as he cast the vote that allowed Blanche’s nomination to advance.
Newsweek has reached out to Tillis's office for comment.
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What Did Thom Tillis Say About the DOJ?
Tillis used his explanation of the vote to deliver one of the day’s bluntest assessments of the Justice Department’s trajectory, arguing that both parties have contributed to a cycle of political escalation. He said the department’s conduct under Trump was part of a broader pattern of “one‑upping” that has worsened across administrations and now demands a reset.
“The bottom line is nobody is clean here. And until we start recognizing this behavior as bad, we're just going to one-up it,” Tillis said, adding that the current moment is “a little bit more intense” than the last administration, which he said was itself more intense than the one before it.
He urged an end to the cycle, calling the DOJ’s recent actions “absurdity” that needs to be corrected.
Despite those concerns, Tillis backed Todd Blanche, saying he hoped the acting attorney general would “bend the curve” and help steer the department away from politically motivated prosecutions. His vote, paired with Senator John Cornyn’s, provided the margin Blanche needed to advance to the full Senate.
Cornyn’s office shared a statement with Newsweek reiterating why the Texas Republican ultimately backed Blanche after initially threatening to block the nomination. In remarks delivered during Tuesday’s committee meeting, Cornyn said he required “specific assurances in writing” about the IRS settlement Blanche signed last spring, and that those conditions were finally met.
“This past Sunday, Senator Tillis and I came to an agreement after numerous meetings with the Department of Justice and Mr. Blanche on an agency‑interpretative guidance document that reaffirms what Mr. Blanche said in his sworn testimony,” Cornyn said. He emphasized that the document limits the scope of Trump’s audit protection to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and restricts its application to the IRS and Treasury, calling the clarification “critically important.”
Cornyn said he expects the Justice Department to “live up to this in future litigation,” adding that Blanche should serve as a “stabilizing force” capable of giving Trump “hard truths” when necessary.
“I would advise Mr. Blanche not to be afraid to capitalize on that earned trust when necessary for the good of the country,” he said, noting he was “glad we could address these issues here in committee so that this nomination can move forward.”
Cornyn’s office said they would provide additional comment if it became available.
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Blanche’s Deal-Making Breaks the Logjam
Cornyn and Tillis had threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation unless the DOJ formally killed the so‑called Anti‑Weaponization Fund and clarified limits on Trump’s tax immunity settlement. Blanche ultimately issued a written order stating “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund,” noting that “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid.”
The DOJ also confirmed that Trump’s tax‑audit immunity applies only to existing claims, not future filings, and only to the parties in the lawsuit. Those assurances satisfied the two Republicans, both retiring at the end of their terms, who said they wanted guardrails but acknowledged they could be undone the moment Blanche is confirmed.
Cornyn admitted the limits were fragile: “There’s nothing we could do to rein in the president,” he said.
Democrats Say Blanche Has Already Surrendered DOJ Independence
Democrats on the committee blasted the vote as a capitulation to Trump’s efforts to weaponize federal law enforcement. Senator Dick Durbin said Blanche had “aided and abetted the most corrupt administration in the history of the United States,” accusing him of perjury for denying he had called the fund a “mistake” in private conversations.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioned what remained of the committee’s commitment to the rule of law, pointing to Blanche’s role in accelerating investigations into Trump’s political foes and greenlighting the widely ridiculed indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over a beach photo arranged to read “86 47.”
Blanche’s tenure has included the dismissal of career DOJ lawyers, the abandonment of probes into Trump allies, and a rapid expansion of cases targeting his adversaries.
Representative Adam Schiff warned that confirming Blanche would normalize political retaliation: “The day we say that’s okay and the day we confirm an AG who says that’s okay is the day that the rule of law becomes merely an unenforceable idea.”
Even Republicans who backed Blanche acknowledged deep discomfort with the DOJ’s trajectory. Tillis said he hoped Blanche would “bend the curve of this absurdity,” citing the Comey indictment as an example of politically motivated prosecution. But he conceded that the weaponization of the department was “a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one.”
Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, a Republican typically aligned with the White House, unexpectedly endorsed Cornyn and Tillis’ push for written guarantees, calling it “a crime” that it took so long for the DOJ to formalize the changes. He thanked Blanche and the White House for putting the issue “to bed once and for all,” despite Democrats’ warnings that the fund could be revived “15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed.”
What Happens Next
Blanche’s nomination now heads to the full Senate, where he is expected to be confirmed, though several Republicans have not publicly committed. The vote could occur as early as this week. If confirmed, Blanche would formally take over a Justice Department already reshaped by Trump’s Article II interpretation that gives the president near‑total authority over prosecutorial decisions.
Former DOJ officials warn Blanche’s written assurances are easily reversible and that existing DOJ processes still allow compensation to Trump allies, including individuals convicted for actions during the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Tax experts say the narrowed immunity deal still grants Trump a windfall unavailable to any other taxpayer.
The Senate’s decision will determine whether Blanche continues steering a department that has “surrendered much of its independence to the White House,” as critics describe, or whether internal and congressional pressure forces him to assert boundaries Trump has so far ignored.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Sam Wilson.
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