What To Watch For
Blanche’s nomination will need to be confirmed by the Senate, where he faced questioning just weeks earlier over the DOJ’s decision to settle Trump’s case against the IRS. The now-defunct plan to establish a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of the settlement drew backlash from some GOP lawmakers, whose support Blanche will need to secure the nomination.
Read more Venus And Jupiter To Almost Touch After Sunset In Close Conjunction
What Happened During Blanche’s Recent Senate Hearing?
At the hearing last month, Blanche vigorously defended the Justice Department’s decision to settle the IRS lawsuit. The acting attorney general faced several questions about the nearly $1.8 fund set aside to pay out purported victims of “lawfare and weaponization,” which critics argued was a means to enrich Trump’s allies and supporters—including January 6 rioters. Blanche said that the structure was “not unprecedented,” and the payouts would not be limited to Republicans and Trump’s allies. He also insisted that he was not “directed” by Trump to agree to the settlement. Earlier this week, Blanche told the House Appropriations subcommittee that the controversial fund has been killed off. According to several outlets he told the committee “we’re not moving forward with the fund, period.”
Tangent
As a GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Thom Tillis. R-N.C. could serve as a key deciding vote on whether Blanche’s nomination is allowed to progress. Tillis, who has repeatedly been antagonized by Trump, had suggested in April that he may oppose Blanche’s nomination, saying the “red line” for him would be any nominee who excused the January 6 riots. Blanche has spoken in favor of the pardons granted to January 6 rioters and even talked about the DOJ’s ousting of staffers who were involved in prosecutions targeting Trump.
Read more Trump Makes Unsubstantiated Claims Accusing Democrats Of ‘Stealing’ California Primaries
Further Reading
Blanche Denies Trump Helped Create $1.8 Billion Fund—But New Report Suggests IRS Lawyers Opposed Settling (Forbes)
Read more Northern Lights Forecast: 8 States May See Aurora Borealis Wednesday Night
Trump’s $1.8 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund Is Dead, Blanche Says (Forbes)