--- title: Trump Says He Has ‘No Objection’ to Withdrawing Todd Blanche’s Nomination description: Two Republican senators are withholding support as the Senate delays a vote over a disputed DOJ settlement involving Trump allies. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/07/30/trump-says-no-objection-withdrawing-todd-blanche-doj-attorney-general/ author: Philip Wang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-07-30T17:08:21.830Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-30T17:08:21.997Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Has “No Objection” Withdrawing Todd Blanche’s nomination og:description: Two Republican senators are withholding support as the Senate delays a vote over a disputed DOJ settlement involving Trump allies. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/07/30/trump-says-no-objection-withdrawing-todd-blanche-doj-attorney-general/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9689193f192b5220/6a6b7f23d0a80fdff3f1f506/GettyImages-2288170287.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2288170287.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Has “No Objection” Withdrawing Todd Blanche’s nomination twitter:description: Two Republican senators are withholding support as the Senate delays a vote over a disputed DOJ settlement involving Trump allies. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9689193f192b5220/6a6b7f23d0a80fdff3f1f506/GettyImages-2288170287.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Says He Has ‘No Objection’ to Withdrawing Todd Blanche’s Nomination > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=06f0f5a6-eee1-4cfc-990b-f7c14df0fb5e&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang Jul 30, 2026 5:08 PM UTC  Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is seen after leaving a meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is seen after leaving a meeting on Capitol Hill on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch–Getty Images  by [Philip Wang](https://time.com/author/philip-wang/)  ## Philip Wang Jul 30, 2026 5:08 PM UTC President Trump [said Thursday](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/117009581290419286) that he might pull Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general, after two Republican senators threatened to withhold their support. “I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing,” Trump posted on Truth Social. His comments came after the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote Thursday that would have advanced Blanche’s nomination. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, one of the key holdout votes, [told](https://x.com/mkraju/status/2082485551223951707) reporters Wednesday that he had not received a written confirmation from the Department of Justice that it would eliminate provisions in a proposed settlement between Trump and the department over a lawsuit he filed concerning [the leak of his tax returns](https://time.com/article/2026/05/16/trump-irs-lawsuit-weaponization-fund/). The most contentious provisions would have created a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants, and shielded Trump and his family from future audits by the Internal Revenue Service. **Read more:** [_What to Know About the DOJ’s $1.8B 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' That Could Compensate Trump Allies Investigated Under Biden_](https://time.com/article/2026/05/18/trump-doj-anti-weaponization-fund-irs-lawsuit-settlement/) “I think they \[the administration\] realizes that we are serious,” Cornyn, who [lost](https://time.com/article/2026/05/26/paxton-defeats-cornyn-trump-texas-talarico/) his reelection bid in May after Trump endorsed his opponent, said after canceling an in-person meeting with Blanche. The committee did not immediately announce a new date for a confirmation vote. Shortly after the postponement, Cornyn [said](https://x.com/mkraju/status/2082841823232291085) negotiations between the committee members and the DOJ were still ongoing, and that the DOJ had received “some pushbacks” from the White House. “I thought we were pretty close to landing the plane last night, but this morning there's been some more complications. I think if this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out,” Cornyn added. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is not seeking reelection over his [disagreement](https://time.com/7298637/thom-tillis-retirement-reelection-north-carolina-senator-trump-republican-obbb/) with the Trump administration, has also [made](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TdsDtoiVW8) [clear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91AvlaL6N38) his opposition to the Anti-Weaponization Fund. “He \[Blanche\] is a qualified candidate. We just need to get the issues off the table,” Tillis [said](https://x.com/ReubenJones1/status/2082587469627674960/video/1) on Wednesday. ## What happens if Blanche is not confirmed? Todd Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general for the DOJ since [Trump removed Pam Bondi in April](https://time.com/article/2026/04/02/pam-bondi-out-as-trump-s-attorney-general/) over her handling of the Epstein files. Unlike interim U.S. prosecutors, who can lawfully serve 120 days without a Senate confirmation, an acting attorney general can serve for as long as a president wants. That is because of U.S. Code § 508, which [states](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title28/pdf/USCODE-2024-title28-partII-chap31-sec508.pdf) that “the Deputy Attorney General may exercise all the duties of that office” if the office of Attorney General is vacant and the law does not state a time limit for how long the acting attorney general can legally serve. The law, which was passed decades before the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (VRA) of 1998, takes [legal precedence](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44997)**.** While the FVRA generally limits officials serving in a temporary capacity to no longer than 210 days after the position becomes vacant, the law also made exceptions to agency-specific laws that had been previously codified. A similar arrangement existed under the Biden administration. In 2023, after Marty Walsh resigned as labor secretary, President Biden [nominated Julie Su](https://time.com/6263673/biden-labor-secretary-pick-julie-su-unions/) to fill the vacancy. Su, who had served as deputy labor secretary, ultimately [failed](https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/20/white-house-confirmation-su-labor-00107485) to get confirmed by the Senate due to the lack of support from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Su served as acting labor secretary for the rest of the Biden administration under a similar statutory provision, despite Republicans' objections. In 2023, the Government Accountability Office, which oversees the federal government’s compliance with vacancy laws, [concluded](https://www.gao.gov/assets/870/861240.pdf) in a letter that time limitations “do not apply” to Su’s case. ## What did Blanche say about the demands? During his confirmation hearing earlier this month, Todd Blanche [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2EmFWaqQ4o&vl=en) the Anti-Weaponization Fund was “dead.” However, Sen. Cornyn pointed out during the hearing that the settlement agreement made between Trump and the Department of Justice that included the fund could only be modified through “a written agreement” between two parties. When pressed by Cornyn, Blanche said Trump could potentially enforce the agreement if he decides to do so. “They \[Trump’s legal counsel\] could say that we breached by not moving forward,” Blanche said. 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