Trump Just Dropped a Bombshell on Cornyn and Tillis: “I Have No Objection to Temporarily Withdrawing Todd Blanche… Then Putting Him Back After They’re Out of Office”

President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated a deepening intra-party fight over his attorney general nominee, declaring he has “no objection” to temporarily withdrawing Todd Blanche’s nomination if Republican Sens.

John Cornyn and Thom Tillis continue blocking it — only to renominate him once the two senators leave office.In a Truth Social post, Trump heaped praise on Blanche, currently serving as acting attorney general, calling him “a STAR” with the potential “to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time.

” He then turned sharply on the two holdouts.“However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee, who will remain, in any event, as Acting,” Trump wrote.

“Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention. I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.”

The blunt message came after the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a scheduled vote on Blanche’s confirmation. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pulled the vote when it became clear Cornyn and Tillis — both members of the panel — would not support advancing the nomination.At the center of the dispute is a May 2026 settlement between the Justice Department and the IRS resolving a long-running tax dispute involving Trump and his family. The agreement included a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Cornyn has demanded written assurances from the Justice Department that the fund will never be established and that the settlement does not provide overly broad future protections against tax liability. Tillis has raised similar concerns.

Cornyn told reporters the Justice Department’s proposed language so far has been unsatisfactory. He indicated that if the White House and DOJ meet his conditions, a committee vote could still occur next week. Without an agreement, he warned, the nomination could languish for months. “Basically I get the sense that Todd Blanche is not the problem, it’s other folks at the White House who are resistant to any changes,” Cornyn said.

Both senators are lame ducks. Tillis announced in 2025 that he would not seek re-election after Trump threatened a primary challenge. Cornyn lost his Republican primary to a Trump-endorsed challenger. Their terms expire in early January 2027, giving Trump a theoretical path to wait them out and resubmit Blanche’s name to a new Congress.

Critics of the strategy note the risks. Republicans currently control the Senate, but the 2026 midterms could shrink or erase that majority, potentially making confirmation more difficult next year. Blanche would continue serving as acting attorney general in the interim, though a permanent, Senate-confirmed AG carries broader authority.Blanche, a former Trump personal attorney who represented him in criminal cases, has drawn strong support from the White House and many Republican senators. His confirmation had been viewed as relatively smooth until the late objections from Cornyn and Tillis surfaced this week.

The episode underscores lingering tensions between Trump and a small group of outgoing Republican senators who no longer face electoral pressure. For now, Blanche remains in place as acting attorney general while negotiations continue and the president makes clear he is prepared to play the long game.