Trump says he 'may' pull Blanche AG nomination temporarily

Law Trump says he 'may' pull Blanche AG nomination temporarily July 30, 202612:30 PM ET By  Danielle Kurtzleben ,  Ryan Lucas Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing on July 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images President Trump says he is willing to pull Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general. The news comes as two key Republicans are withholding their support over concerns about the Justice Department's deal with President Trump to end his IRS lawsuit. Trump said Thursday he was willing to end the nomination, but he was by no means conciliatory in his tone, saying he would keep Blanche on as acting attorney general and renominate him later. In addition, Trump took aim at the two Republican senators withholding their support — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both of whose support Blanche would need to advance in his nomination in committee. Sponsor Message "I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office," Trump wrote in a social media post. Both Cornyn and Tillis are leaving Congress in January. Tillis announced his retirement last year, after publicly clashing with Trump over his massive tax-and-spending bill. Cornyn lost his primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger. In his post, Trump bragged that both senators' "political careers have been ended by my action." Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, has been a contentious pick to lead the Justice Department amid questions about his handling of the Epstein files, the targeting of Trump's political foes and the broader politicization of justice. Tillis and Cornyn this week voiced their opposition to Blanche over an agreement the Justice Department struck to end President Trump's IRS lawsuit over his leaked tax returns. Law Takeaways from Todd Blanche's confi...