Frozen copy retrieved 2026-08-04T10:40:00Z for audit 2026-08-04T10-34-04Z. Original URL: https://www.bssnews.net/international/411497. The Stochastic Parrot does not host or redistribute; this snapshot exists solely so that quoted spans remain verifiable if the original page changes. Character offsets below index into this plain text; highlighted spans are the quotes cited in the audit.

Trump attorney general pick looks set to clear US Senate hurdle

AFP · back to the audit
WASHINGTON, United States, Aug 4, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche appeared on track Monday to become the next US attorney general after two Republican senators dropped their opposition to his nomination.

Blanche's Senate confirmation has been held up by concerns from senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis over a $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of politically motivated prosecution and a tax audit immunity deal with the Republican president.

Blanche issued a written order over the weekend scrapping the so-called "anti-weaponization fund" and said the audit immunity agreement with Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization would only apply "retroactively" to past tax years and not future filings.

Cornyn and Tillis, both of whom are leaving the Senate in January, welcomed Blanche's moves in a statement on Monday and said they "look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon."

A vote in the committee, where Republicans hold a narrow 12-10 majority, is scheduled for Tuesday and the full Republican-controlled Senate is expected to weigh in on Blanche's nomination later in the week.

Senate Democrats are united in their opposition to Blanche's nomination amid concerns he has treated the Department of Justice as an extension of the president's legal team.

"Senate Republicans are once again taking Trump's personal attorney at his word," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Blanche's so-called 'deal' does nothing, nothing to stop the (Internal Revenue Service) sweetheart deal that lets Trump and his family cheat their way out of tens of millions of dollars in taxes."

Blanche has also come in for criticism from victims of Jeffrey Epstein over his handling of the release of investigative files about the convicted sex offender, a one-time close friend of Trump.

The out-of-court settlement stems from Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the illegal disclosure of his tax records by an agency contractor.

In his Sunday statement, Blanche said the "Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund is rescinded and shall have no force or effect."

"This Order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund," it said.