Todd Blanche's nomination for U.S. attorney general is moving forward after two Republican senators secured a written promise 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 support Blanche's nomination, ending a standoff that had stalled a Senate vote on the pick, The Guardian and CBS News reported.

As part of the deal, Blanche gave the 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 Blanche then formally rescinded his establishment of the fund in an order issued late Sunday, CBS News reported.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 after the GOP agreement. The nearly $1.8 billion fund had been the central obstacle to Blanche's confirmation, USA Today reported.

The written assurance given 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 fund's establishment in a late Sunday order, Blanche turned that assurance into an official action before the Senate vote.

The broader context here is a confirmation process in which a single policy dispute within the president's own party was enough to stop floor action on a Cabinet-level nominee. The dispute was resolved through a written commitment followed by a formal rescission order — a negotiated settlement between the executive branch and individual senators rather than a one-sided concession.

The key dynamic for those tracking the confirmation landscape is the leverage that two Republican senators held 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 handled through a direct agreement between the nominee and the senators, with the rescission carried out by departmental order.

The sequence — from stalled nomination to written assurance to formal rescission — shows 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 a legislative rollback.