Two Republican senators say they will support Todd Blanche for attorney general after written assurance on $1.8 billion fund

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as attorney general, received a last-minute de-escalation from two Republican senators who had said they would block his bid to permanently lead the Justice Department, according to The Guardian. The senators said they will advance Blanche’s nomination after he provided written assurance that a planned $1.8 billion effort described by critics as a slush fund for the president’s allies is dead. The newspaper reported the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to send Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.

In their earlier objections, the two senators warned that they could use procedural leverage to prevent Blanche from moving forward unless they received clarity about how the Justice Department and related efforts would be financed and governed. The Guardian reported that the new written confirmation addressed the senators’ concern that the planned $1.8 billion initiative would operate in a way that could advantage political allies rather than support neutral law enforcement priorities.

Blanche’s nomination matters for the Justice Department’s enforcement posture and internal administration, because the attorney general is responsible for overseeing federal prosecution policy, the department’s use of resources, and the legal framework governing how offices handle investigations and litigation. The Guardian’s reporting places the focus on how any proposed funding scheme would be structured, who would control it, and whether it could be used in a manner the senators found unacceptable.

The Judiciary Committee vote is the next procedural step in the Senate confirmation process. If the committee advances the nomination, the full Senate would then decide whether to confirm Blanche as attorney general, a decision that would determine who holds day-to-day leadership authority at Justice and who sets priorities for federal litigation involving a wide range of issues, including public corruption, national security matters, civil rights enforcement, and other areas tied to federal executive-branch legal power.

The Guardian’s account describes a dispute that has been framed by lawmakers in terms of constitutional process and due process concerns, with the central question being whether large, targeted funding for allied legal efforts would undermine impartiality. Blanche’s reported written assurance, as described by The Guardian, would end that specific funding concept, at least as far as these senators’ objections are concerned.

As of this writing, no Senate or committee posting confirming the Tuesday vote date or the senators’ stated conditions appears in the materials provided for this story, and the specific language of Blanche’s written assurance was not included in the supplied packet. The next developments to watch are the Judiciary Committee’s official agenda and any published committee materials tied to the nomination, along with whether the full Senate engages the same questions or treats the assurance as resolving them.

If the nomination advances, senators would still have the opportunity to raise additional concerns during full-Senate consideration, including questions about the attorney general’s approach to enforcement, resource allocation, and legal strategy across DOJ components. The practical effect of the reported assurances would be to remove one prominent sticking point identified by these lawmakers, but other confirmation questions would remain possible as the process moves to the floor.