Trump’s attorney general pick is getting stalled by two GOP senators. Then Trump threatened to revive his ‘anti-weaponisation fund’

President Donald Trump has threatened to bring back a $1.8bn fund meant to compensate his allies, as a standoff with two Republican senators over his attorney general pick continues. Todd Blanche, who has served as acting attorney general since April, needs support from every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to be confirmed permanently.

Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are withholding their support, according to BBC. Both of their terms end in January. They want clarity on the status of Trump’s “anti-weaponisation fund,” a plan that would have let Trump allies seek compensation for what they describe as politically motivated prosecutions under past administrations.

On Saturday, Trump said that if the two senators do not approve Blanche, “it will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done.” He added that if they continue to withhold support, “then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill.”

Senators want a written commitment that the fund will not return

Trump wrote on social media that Cornyn and Tillis are “upset because I wouldn’t endorse them.” Cornyn and Tillis have asked Blanche, who negotiated the original fund, to state in writing that the Justice Department will not bring it back later. The Trump administration has not made such a commitment public.

The fund was first announced earlier this year to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. It drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who said it could end up paying people convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, including people convicted of assaulting police officers. Separate reporting has looked at how Jan 6 rioters could still get payouts through an existing government fund even without this one in place.

After the backlash, Blanche dropped the plan. A federal judge also blocked the fund, citing concerns that it broke ethical guidelines. The path to that decision involved what led to the fund’s cancellation, which took both public pressure and court action to bring about.

Tillis responded to Trump on X on Saturday. He wrote: “Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against.”

Tillis also wrote, “It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal.” He added, “Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.” The Senate Judiciary Committee has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, where a vote on Blanche’s nomination could take place.

At a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump said the fund was “dead,” but said he still wants compensation for people he believes were treated unfairly by the Justice Department. “I think people are horribly treated. Horribly abused,” he told reporters. “I’d like to see them compensated for the pain.”

Trump also said, “People they were very successful that wanted to go to a rally or an event…ended up spending the rest of their lives in horror.” He added, “They’ve agreed to not have a fund, but there are a lot of people that are very set about it.”

Neither Tillis nor Cornyn will return to the Senate after their current terms end. Tillis had earlier opposed Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful” tax and spending bill, which drew Trump’s criticism. Cornyn and Trump fell out after the president backed Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s opponent, to run in November’s midterm elections, ending Cornyn’s chances of winning another term.