Trump may pull Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, he says

President Donald Trump may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the permanent post over opposition to Trump’s demands that he and his family members be immune from tax audits. 

The opposition is coming from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, both members of Trump’s own party, as well as every Democrat in the Senate. 

Why is Trump threatening to pull Blanche’s nomination?

What they're saying:

Trump said in a social media post Thursday that he might pull Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year. Both have expressed concerns about the controversial settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, which a judge denounced as an exercise in self-dealing.

There was supposed to be a committee vote this week to advance Blanche’s nomination, but it was delayed after failed negotiations between the Justice Department and the Senate. 

The other side:

"I think as far as Blanche and the Department of Justice, we were pretty much on the same page," Cornyn said Thursday. "But then when the president got wind of it, he wasn’t willing to go along with it."

Cornyn and Tillis have said they won’t back Blanche’s nomination without additional assurances in writing about the settlement, which included a deal to drop tax claims against the president and a now-scrapped plan to create a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" meant to compensate Trump allies.

In a social media post Thursday, Cornyn said the president is "mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis."

Big picture view:

While the Justice Department dropped plans for the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" after bipartisan outrage about the potential of payouts going to violent Jan. 6 rioters, officials have said that another piece of the settlement — granting Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits — remains in place. 

The proposed settlement would "forever" bar the government from scrutinizing or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization’s current and past tax examinations. 

Cornyn and Tillis have pressed the administration to modify the agreement to make clear that it covers only existing audits and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.

With all Democratic senators opposed, just one Republican holdout on the Senate Judiciary Committee could sink Blanche’s chances for confirmation. And even if Blanche makes it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, it’s unclear if he has enough Republican support to be confirmed by the full chamber.

What happens if Trump pulls Blanche’s nomination? 

Dig deeper:

If Trump decides to delay Blanche’s confirmation until next year, the move would have little impact on the Justice Department. Blanche, who took over as acting AG after Pam Bondi’s firing in April, can still lead the agency as either acting attorney general or deputy attorney general, the No. 2 post to which he was confirmed last year. 

The deputy attorney general, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the law enforcement agency, can perform the duties of the attorney general if that post is vacant.