Two outgoing Republican senators managed to do Wednesday what Democrats could not: stop President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general before his confirmation reached the Senate floor.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his Republican primary after Trump backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is not seeking reelection, withheld support for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) then postponed Thursday's committee vote because Blanche lacked sufficient support to advance.
Neither Cornyn nor Tillis will be back for the next Congress. Both are now using the final months of their terms to hold Trump's nominee hostage over wording in the administration's settlement of the president's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
After IRS Leak Scandal, Trump DOJ Slams the Door on Trump Tax Audits
That settlement was a direct response to contractor Charles Littlejohn's theft of Trump's confidential tax records, which he handed to journalists while Trump was a private citizen running for reelection. Littlejohn pleaded guilty and got five years. The IRS, whose core job includes protecting taxpayer confidentiality, did nothing to stop it. The audit shield was the remedy. Blanche's May order closed existing tax examinations and covered returns filed before the May 18 settlement date. Cornyn wants the agreement amended to say explicitly that it does not shield future filings from an audit.
The dispute centers on two pieces of that settlement, and the administration has already blinked once. The Justice Department abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund after bipartisan outrage, while the agreement protecting Trump, his family, and affiliated companies from certain IRS audits remains in place. Cornyn and Tillis now want more.
Cornyn said the Justice Department had failed to provide the written changes he demanded.
"We need to conform the actual document to what Todd Blanche testified under oath as the president's acting attorney general. We've had two meetings scheduled that have now been canceled because they have not been responsive in providing those written documents."
The Justice Department sent new language to Cornyn and Tillis on Wednesday evening, but the committee vote was still pulled from the calendar.
Tillis all but conceded that the sides agree on the substance and are fighting over the text.
"We're trying to work just to get the language. I really do believe it's just a drafting exercise. I don't believe that we're apart in terms of the objective."
That admission makes the delay worse. Tillis says he has no disagreement with Blanche or the Justice Department, believes everyone shares the same objective, and still helped deny Trump's nominee a committee vote over a "drafting exercise."
Cornyn's posture is a straight-up revenge play. Trump endorsed Paxton in the Texas Senate race, and Paxton easily defeated Cornyn in the Republican primary. Asked about the holdup Wednesday, Trump openly wondered whether the defeated senator was taking it personally.
"Well, all I can say is Todd Blanche is outstanding. And I thought he's — I thought it was pretty routine because he's so good. You just wouldn't find a better person. So, I don't know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn't endorse him. I don't know what it is, but I haven't heard that there's a problem."
Cornyn denied that he was seeking payback, calling Trump's suggestion "a convenient excuse" that was untrue. Either way, the damage is theirs: Two Republicans on their way out the door blocked the Republican president's choice to lead the Justice Department.
Blanche is hardly an untested nominee. He rose from paralegal to federal prosecutor and section chief, later worked as a white-collar defense attorney, and has already been running the Justice Department as acting Attorney General, delivering real results on violent crime, border security, and energy policy.
Sen. Grassley should put the nomination back on the calendar. If Cornyn and Tillis want to vote against Blanche, they can do it in public and answer for it.
Republican voters did not elect Trump and a Senate GOP majority, so two departing senators could spend their final months turning a "drafting exercise" into an indefinite pocket veto over Trump's Cabinet.
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