Trump threatens to revive ‘anti-weaponization’ fund as he signals he will keep Blanche in acting AG role

By Kit Maher, Holmes Lybrand, Aleena Fayaz, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would work to get a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund passed into law if he can’t garner the support in the Senate to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general.

The president said on social media he will “push hard” to codify through Congress the fund that has been at the center of resistance to Blanche’s nomination from Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

The president’s post added, “Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done.”

Trump repeated that he would keep Blanche as acting head of the Justice Department if he could not garner the support in the Senate to confirm him permanently.

Trump said Cornyn and Tillis were “both upset because I wouldn’t Endorse them.” Cornyn lost his primary this spring to Trump-backed firebrand Ken Paxton. Tillis, a frequent Trump critic, decided last year not to run for reelection.

Trump’s message could further complicate Blanche’s chances of being confirmed, as Cornyn and Tillis have indicated they’ll withhold their needed votes until they get written assurances that the fund won’t be resurrected, along with certain commitments about tax investigations.

It’s not clear why Trump thinks he would have the votes to codify the fund if he doesn’t have them for Blanche’s nomination. CNN has reached out to the White House for details about the president’s intentions.

Tillis responded to Trump’s post Saturday, saying that Blanche, “who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal.”

“Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against,” Tillis wrote on X.

The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled a meeting Tuesday for a possible vote on Blanche’s nomination. The initial vote earlier this week was called off after the key Republican senators voiced concerns.

A committee spokesperson said in a statement late Friday that GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley “would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess as he has an excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.”

The statement suggests a deal has not yet been reached — after Trump earlier Friday said the fund behind the holdup is “dead” but that “I wish it weren’t.” White House and Justice Department officials have been working to unstick Blanche’s nomination for attorney general.

Trump defended the fund at length during a Cabinet meeting Friday, echoing comments posted on Truth Social earlier that day in which he called for Blanche to “be immediately approved” as his permanent pick for the role. Just a day earlier, the president had said he wouldn’t object to “temporarily withdrawing” Blanche’s nomination until Tillis and Cornyn leave Congress early next year.

Tillis responded on X Friday morning that Trump’s comments reaffirmed why he and Cornyn needed assurances in writing.

“The President made it clear today that the so-called Anti Weaponization Fund is still alive, which is exactly why we are attempting to formally end it,” Tillis wrote.

Blanche has already said the controversial fund is “dead,” and the Justice Department told courts the program was abandoned, but officials have previously declined to put the commitment in writing. The fund, originally established by a settlement agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and Trump’s personal lawyers, would have offered taxpayer money to people who claimed they were victims of weaponization by the federal government — including those involved with the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.

Cornyn has been adamant that he also wants Blanche to clarify an addendum to that agreement that offers the president and members of his family tax immunity. The senator wants Blanche to explicitly acknowledge that it applies only to past tax investigations against the president and those listed in the lawsuit that was settled.

The demands have left Blanche in a difficult place since putting limits on the tax addendum could anger the president.

At the Cabinet meeting, Trump repeated his claims that Cornyn is “very angry” that he snubbed him in the Texas primary and endorsed his challenger — an assertion the GOP senator has denied. The Texas Republican has said he’s not looking to replace Blanche as the attorney general nominee, but he wants the assurances in writing.

“I don’t blame him, to be honest with you,” Trump said of Cornyn. “The man that lost, the man that I didn’t endorse, has become very angry, and that’s OK.”

In both the Truth Social post and the meeting, the president again insisted that the fund would not have benefited him personally. Rather, he said it was intended for those “whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed” by the Biden administration.

“I felt that they should be given compensation for what has been done to them,” Trump said.

As Trump was muddying the issue from the White House, his private attorneys were escalating the legal battle over the controversial IRS settlement in question, with court filings that doubled down on the tax immunity deal that is now imperiling Blanche’s nomination.

Trump is appealing an order from US District Judge Kathleen Williams on July 13 that said he had sought to “manipulate the judicial process” with the case. The ruling aimed to block any attempt by Trump to use the settlement as a defense if the federal government brought claims against him, his family or his business in the future.

In a new filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers wrote that her opinion violated the First Amendment and that it “unconstitutionally disables the Parties from asserting legal rights in future proceedings.”

Trump’s lawyers — who are also contesting sanctions against them — are asking Williams to pause her ruling while their appeal plays out at the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to reflect the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet on Tuesday for a potential vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination.

CNN’s Tierney Sneed and Logan Schiciano contributed to this report.