Thomas Tillis

A divided Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general on Tuesday, clearing the embattled former Trump defense lawyer for a full Senate vote.

Republicans themselves acknowledged the Justice Department’s conduct under President Donald Trump has grown increasingly politicized, even as they voted to install the man overseeing that shift.

The decision sets up a consequential floor fight that could cement Blanche’s control of a department already reshaped to target Trump’s perceived enemies and shield his allies.

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The committee’s 12–10 party-line vote came only after Blanche agreed to rescind a controversial $1.8 billion compensation fund and narrow a tax‑audit immunity deal for Trump and his family — concessions that Republican holdouts said were necessary but still reversible.

“Maybe it’s a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one,” Senator Thom Tillis said, warning that the DOJ’s behavior was “bad” even as he cast the vote that allowed Blanche’s nomination to advance.

What did Thom Tillis say about the DOJ?

Tillis used his explanation of the vote to deliver one of the day’s bluntest assessments of the Justice Department’s trajectory, arguing that both parties have contributed to a cycle of political escalation. He said the department’s conduct under Trump was part of a broader pattern of “one‑upping” that has worsened across administrations and now demands a reset.

“The bottom line is nobody is clean here. And until we start recognizing this behavior as bad, we're just going to one-up it,” Tillis said, adding that the current moment is “a little bit more intense” than the last administration — which he said was itself more intense than the one before it. He urged an end to the cycle, calling the DOJ’s recent actions “absurdity” that needs to be corrected.

Despite those concerns, Tillis backed Todd Blanche, saying he hoped the acting attorney general would “bend the curve” and help steer the department away from politically motivated prosecutions. His vote, paired with Senator John Cornyn’s, provided the margin Blanche needed to advance to the full Senate.

Blanche’s Deal-Making Breaks the Logjam

Senators John Cornyn and Tillis had threatened to block Blanche’s confirmation unless the DOJ formally killed the so‑called Anti‑Weaponization Fund and clarified limits on Trump’s tax immunity settlement. Blanche ultimately issued a written order stating “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund,” noting that “No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid.”

The DOJ also confirmed that Trump’s tax‑audit immunity applies only to existing claims, not future filings, and only to the parties in the lawsuit. Those assurances satisfied the two Republicans — both retiring at the end of their terms — who said they wanted guardrails but acknowledged they could be undone the moment Blanche is confirmed.

Cornyn admitted the limits were fragile: “There’s nothing we could do to rein in the president,” he said, adding that Blanche had earned enough trust to deliver “hard truths” to Trump even if ignored.