Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gives opening remarks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for attorney general at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 15, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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Todd Branch’s nomination for attorney general was in jeopardy Wednesday after key Republican senators canceled for the second time a meeting with Branch aimed at addressing concerns about the settlement of President Donald Trump’s controversial lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he canceled a meeting with acting Attorney General Blanche after the Justice Department did not respond to his request to clarify the terms of the settlement, which protects Trump and others from an Internal Revenue Service audit of tax returns filed before the settlement.
“We can win,” Cornyn told reporters when asked why the Justice Department hasn’t met his concerns, even though Blanche has the votes needed to nominate him from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Maybe they think I’m going to give up or comply,” Cornyn said, MS NOW reported. “But they’re wrong.”
Cornyn also said he believes the other Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, “is on pretty much the same page as me.”
“So you better get serious. There’s not much time left,” Cornyn said.
Mr. Tillis, like Mr. Cornyn, has expressed concerns about another provision of the settlement: the Justice Department’s creation of a $1.8 billion fund to compensate alleged victims of the department’s prosecutorial overreach.
Mr. Blanche, Mr. Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, said he canceled the fund after harsh criticism from members of Congress, but Mr. Tillis, Mr. Cornyn and others are seeking written assurances that the fund cannot be reinstated.
For Blanche’s nomination to reach a unanimous Senate vote, a majority of the Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote Thursday, would need to agree. The committee has 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. All Democrats are expected to vote against Blanche.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) speaks with reporters in the Hart Building after a meeting with attorney general candidate Todd Blanche, acting attorney general, was canceled Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
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If Mr. Cornyn or Mr. Tillis votes against Mr. Branch, it would prevent his nomination from moving to the full Senate.
Cornyn said he was told by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, that he needed to know by 4 p.m. ET Wednesday whether the committee’s Thursday vote on Blanche’s nomination would proceed as scheduled.
“So we still have some time. I hope they realize the seriousness of this,” Cornyn said.
Asked if he would vote “no” to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate, Cornyn said, “Well, I’m not prepared to vote ‘yes.'” Let me say that. ”
President Trump told reporters late Wednesday that he believed Blanche’s nomination was “progressing pretty well.” He also said Cornyn may be angry because Trump did not endorse Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary, which was won by Attorney General Kex Paxton, who had the president’s support.
The settlement that Mr. Cornyn wants to amend resolves a lawsuit Mr. Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service over the illegal leaking of tax records by agency contractors.
In his letter from the Justice Department, Mr. Cornyn seeks assurances given by Mr. Branch during his confirmation hearing about the terms of the settlement, which protect Mr. Trump, his family and entities from IRS audits and enforcement actions related to tax returns filed by the settlement date.
Blanche testified that the proposed settlement is not intended to protect people who are not parties to the lawsuit, is not intended to provide future immunity from tax audits, and does not apply to government agencies other than the IRS and Treasury Department.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer. They can state it in a modified release form and it will meet my request,” Cornyn said. “But for some reason, I don’t know if it’s the Justice Department employees or who they are, but they just… know what they have to do and they just refuse to do it.”
Asked about Mr. Cornyn’s claims in a statement to CNBC, a Justice Department official said, “After ongoing discussions with both the committee and the senator’s office, the Department of Justice submitted a written proposal to Senator Cornyn’s staff yesterday.”
“We look forward to further discussion on outstanding concerns,” the official said.
Mr. Cornyn previously said, “I have never seen a single piece of writing that met my request.”
Cornyn plans to resign from the Senate in January after losing to Paxton in the Republican primary runoff. And with Tillis retiring from the Senate at the end of his term in January, both senators are in a position to take up political positions without worrying about re-election.
