THE SLATEST
Trump did the worst thing he could to a pair of lawmakers, but he also set them free
BY PATRICK REIS
JULY 30, 2026 5:50 PM
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Donald Trump would very much like the Senate to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as permanent Attorney General Todd Blanche. Today, though, the president said he might temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination. What’s the deal here? It’s unclear what Trump will do next, but even the possibility of the AG nominee stalling in the GOP-controlled Senate is an interesting window into the leverage that Trump—through messes of his own making—has lost over certain members of his party.
OK. Catch me up quickly on Blanche?
After Trump fired former AG Pam Bondi, Blanche—who had already been confirmed as deputy attorney general after serving as Trump’s personal defense attorney—stepped into the role in an acting capacity. He proceeded to even further facilitate Trump’s use of the Justice Department as a branch of the White House dedicated to punishing the president’s political opponents. That fealty was enough for Trump to nominate Blanche to the position permanently. In days gone by, that would have been a done deal: Republicans control the upper chamber responsible for advice and consent on Trump’s nominees and are far from fond of saying no to the president.
What’s different this time?
Two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has to approve the nomination to get it to the Senate floor, are refusing to support Blanche. The committee’s Democrats are all hard no votes as well, so without the GOP votes, Blanche is stuck. Looking to avoid an embarrassing L, the committee postponed the Blanche vote, which had been scheduled for Thursday.
Who are these Republicans standing up to Trump? And what’s their problem with Blanche?
Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas are the committee holdouts. Both are upset about Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund.”
What’s that?
Real quick: Trump sued the IRS over the 2020 leak of part of his tax returns, and in an extremely shady settlement that was essentially Trump making a deal with himself, the government agreed to create a pool of money to pay people who’d supposedly been victims of the Biden administration’s persecution. In practice, that looks a lot like a slush fund for Trump to funnel taxpayer cash to his friends (including, possibly, Jan. 6 Capitol rioters). Republicans were not eager to be associated with a national “thanks for the insurrection, sorry there were consequences” scheme, and, after much pushback, Blanche told the committee that the plan had been scrapped. Owing to the administration lying a lot, Tillis and Cornyn want more guarantees that the weaponization fund won’t ever happen, and they have some other concerns about the other part Trump’s self-settlement with the IRS, which involves an indefinite non-prosecution deal for the president and his family.
Wow. What admirable commitment to duty from these Republican senators. Should I admire them greatly, or is there some underlying dynamic that reveals this all to be kind of pathetic?
Sigh. Trump ended both Cornyn’s and Tillis’ political careers earlier this year by refusing to back them in their primaries. (Cornyn lost to the mega-MAGA challenger Ken Paxton, Tillis just said To hell with this and retired.) Now that they have no careers to lose, Cornyn and Tillis suddenly find themselves more willing to defy the president.
So what happens now?
As noted, Trump’s plan would be to temporarily pull Blanche’s nomination and then reintroduce it next year, after the Suddenly-Not-So-Timid Twosome have left office. That plan could backfire, however, if Republicans lose the Senate in the midterms, or even if they see their margin get slimmer.
And in the meantime?
For now, Blanche stays on as acting AG, eagerly doing Trump’s bidding. But you can’t be an “acting” official forever. There are a lot of moving parts here, and disagreement about when the clock would really run out on Blanche. But per federal guidelines, Blanche can serve for 210 more days (almost seven months!) after the date of a nomination’s “rejection, return, or withdrawal.” So, the basic answer is that Blanche will be calling the shots for a good long while. After that, it’s up in the air.
So what do I make of all this?
A few things: Our Justice Department, which is supposed to have some modicum of independence from the White House, will continue to be run by someone who sees his job as satisfying Trump’s every whim. And, as my colleague Jim Newell pointed out a few weeks ago, Trump’s ultimate leverage in getting Blanche confirmed is the threat to pick someone even worse. Our Senate, on the other hand, is showing signs of becoming slightly less supine, though so far those are limited to Republicans with nothing left to lose.
OK. Brutal. Did Slate politics by chance publish a really excellent feature today on Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, one so compelling and rich that I could find solace just by reading it?
So glad you asked!
Tolga Akdoğan
That Michigan Senate piece isn’t the only thing we have for you! My Slate colleagues have put together all the material you need for a great evening online.
A bizarre glimpse into how the Trump admin sees itself: All right, this one isn’t exactly a palate cleanser, but sometimes you’ve got to laugh to keep from crying! And one of Slate’s funniest writers, Christina Cauterucci, took a deep dive into the weirdly knife-heavy videos the Trump administration has been posting on TikTok, so you don’t have to.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Donald Trump would very much like the Senate to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as permanent Attorney General Todd Blanche. Today, though, the president said he might temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination. What’s the deal here? It’s unclear what Trump will do next, but even the possibility of the AG nominee stalling in the GOP-controlled Senate is an interesting window into the leverage that Trump—through messes of his own making—has lost over certain members of his party.
OK. Catch me up quickly on Blanche?
After Trump fired former AG Pam Bondi, Blanche—who had already been confirmed as deputy attorney general after serving as Trump’s personal defense attorney—stepped into the role in an acting capacity. He proceeded to even further facilitate Trump’s use of the Justice Department as a branch of the White House dedicated to punishing the president’s political opponents. That fealty was enough for Trump to nominate Blanche to the position permanently. In days gone by, that would have been a done deal: Republicans control the upper chamber responsible for advice and consent on Trump’s nominees and are far from fond of saying no to the president.
What’s different this time?
Two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has to approve the nomination to get it to the Senate floor, are refusing to support Blanche. The committee’s Democrats are all hard no votes as well, so without the GOP votes, Blanche is stuck. Looking to avoid an embarrassing L, the committee postponed the Blanche vote, which had been scheduled for Thursday.
Who are these Republicans standing up to Trump? And what’s their problem with Blanche?
Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas are the committee holdouts. Both are upset about Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund.”
What’s that?
Real quick: Trump sued the IRS over the 2020 leak of part of his tax returns, and in an extremely shady settlement that was essentially Trump making a deal with himself, the government agreed to create a pool of money to pay people who’d supposedly been victims of the Biden administration’s persecution. In practice, that looks a lot like a slush fund for Trump to funnel taxpayer cash to his friends (including, possibly, Jan. 6 Capitol rioters). Republicans were not eager to be associated with a national “thanks for the insurrection, sorry there were consequences” scheme, and, after much pushback, Blanche told the committee that the plan had been scrapped. Owing to the administration lying a lot, Tillis and Cornyn want more guarantees that the weaponization fund won’t ever happen, and they have some other concerns about the other part Trump’s self-settlement with the IRS, which involves an indefinite non-prosecution deal for the president and his family.
Wow. What admirable commitment to duty from these Republican senators. Should I admire them greatly, or is there some underlying dynamic that reveals this all to be kind of pathetic?
Sigh. Trump ended both Cornyn’s and Tillis’ political careers earlier this year by refusing to back them in their primaries. (Cornyn lost to the mega-MAGA challenger Ken Paxton, Tillis just said To hell with this and retired.) Now that they have no careers to lose, Cornyn and Tillis suddenly find themselves more willing to defy the president.
So what happens now?
As noted, Trump’s plan would be to temporarily pull Blanche’s nomination and then reintroduce it next year, after the Suddenly-Not-So-Timid Twosome have left office. That plan could backfire, however, if Republicans lose the Senate in the midterms, or even if they see their margin get slimmer.
And in the meantime?
For now, Blanche stays on as acting AG, eagerly doing Trump’s bidding. But you can’t be an “acting” official forever. There are a lot of moving parts here, and disagreement about when the clock would really run out on Blanche. But per federal guidelines, Blanche can serve for 210 more days (almost seven months!) after the date of a nomination’s “rejection, return, or withdrawal.” So, the basic answer is that Blanche will be calling the shots for a good long while. After that, it’s up in the air.
So what do I make of all this?
A few things: Our Justice Department, which is supposed to have some modicum of independence from the White House, will continue to be run by someone who sees his job as satisfying Trump’s every whim. And, as my colleague Jim Newell pointed out a few weeks ago, Trump’s ultimate leverage in getting Blanche confirmed is the threat to pick someone even worse. Our Senate, on the other hand, is showing signs of becoming slightly less supine, though so far those are limited to Republicans with nothing left to lose.
OK. Brutal. Did Slate politics by chance publish a really excellent feature today on Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, one so compelling and rich that I could find solace just by reading it?
So glad you asked!
Tolga AkdoğanThat Michigan Senate piece isn’t the only thing we have for you! My Slate colleagues have put together all the material you need for a great evening online.
A bizarre glimpse into how the Trump admin sees itself: All right, this one isn’t exactly a palate cleanser, but sometimes you’ve got to laugh to keep from crying! And one of Slate’s funniest writers, Christina Cauterucci, took a deep dive into the weirdly knife-heavy videos the Trump administration has been posting on TikTok, so you don’t have to.
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