Todd Blanche's nomination for U.S. attorney general is moving forward after two Republican senators secured written assurances that the Justice Department would abandon a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund, NPR reported on August 3, 2026.

Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas said they will back Blanche's nomination, ending an impasse that had stalled a Senate vote on the pick, The Guardian and CBS News reported.

As part of the deal securing their support, Blanche gave senators a written assurance that he would drop President Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund," according to The Guardian. Blanche then formally rescinded his establishment of the fund in an order issued late Sunday, CBS News reported.

The NPR report, written by Ryan Lucas and Scott Detrow, confirmed the nomination is back on track following the GOP deal. The nearly $1.8 billion fund had been the central obstacle to Blanche's confirmation, USA Today reported.

The written assurance provided to Tillis and Cornyn binds the Justice Department under Blanche's leadership to abandoning the fund, which had drawn scrutiny from the two Senate Republicans. By formally rescinding the establishment of the fund in a late Sunday order, Blanche converted that assurance into an official action prior to the Senate vote.

The broader context here is a confirmation process in which a single policy dispute within the president's party proved sufficient to halt floor action on a Cabinet-level nominee. The resolution of that dispute through a written commitment, followed by a formal rescission order, represents a negotiated settlement between the executive branch and individual senators rather than a unilateral concession.

For operators tracking the confirmation landscape, the key dynamic is the leverage exercised by two Republican senators over a Justice Department spending initiative. The anti-weaponization fund, valued at nearly $1.8 billion, was not subject to a floor vote or a standalone legislative amendment. It was instead addressed through a direct agreement between the nominee and the senators, with the rescission executed by departmental order.

The sequence, from stalled nomination to written assurance to formal rescission, illustrates a procedural path that bypasses broader Senate debate. The fund's elimination was the condition for Tillis and Cornyn's support, and the condition was met through departmental action rather than legislative rollback.