President Donald Trump has resorted to ultimatums in a desperate bid to get his pick for attorney general confirmed.
The 80-year-old president took to Truth Social early Saturday to warn two Republican senators that if they don’t vote yes for Todd Blanche, he’ll spend his time making their worst fears come true.
Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis sparked Trump’s wrath by refusing to back the acting attorney general’s confirmation to become the Justice Department’s full-time leader.
Trump wrote that if Tillis, 65, and Cornyn, 74, continue to oppose Blanche, 51, he will keep him on as acting attorney general and “push hard” for the Anti-Weaponization Bill, the very measure that has fueled the senators’ opposition to his nomination.
“I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill, which takes care of those who have been so badly treated by the Crooked Joe Biden (and Obama!) Administration (I get nothing, although I was treated horribly!), PASSED,” he wrote.
The president had previously conceded that Blanche’s confirmation vote could remain stalled until after the November midterm elections, a timeline that benefits neither senator, as both are set to leave office in January and are not participating in the election. But this marks his first direct threat to pursue the very outcome they are trying to prevent if they refuse to follow his demands.
“Todd Blanche was a voice of reason! It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done,” Trump added, outlining his plan to move forward with the move if Tillis and Cornyn refuse to support Blanche’s confirmation.
Both senators have pressed Blanche to provide written assurances that the controversial $1.776 billion compensation fund for Trump allies is no longer under consideration. His refusal to provide those assurances has left them unwilling to support the nomination, effectively stalling Blanche’s path to confirmation.
“They know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it,” Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday, pushing back against any suggestion that he was delaying the vote because Trump had withheld his endorsement.
The Texas and North Carolina senators both appeared to suggest that “someone else” was standing in the way of Blanche providing the requested written assurance. Cornyn said he believed the acting attorney general would issue the statement if he could, but was instead facing resistance from “higher-ups at the White House.”
Neither senator identified who they were referring to, with Tillis adding, “I don’t believe it’s the president, and hopefully we can resolve it.”
But while the North Carolina senator insisted Trump was not the obstacle, the president has taken an unusual route to securing the votes he needs, turning to threats rather than compromise as the confirmation vote is pushed to Tuesday.
Blanche, Trump’s former personal attorney, represented him in the so-called “hush money” trial that led to the president being convicted of falsifying business documents amid a sex scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels.
His close relationship with the president has sparked questions about his ability to lead the department independently, particularly after he admitted during his confirmation hearings that the White House was essentially running things.
The Daily Beast has reached out to representatives for Tillis and Cornyn, along with the White House, for comment on the president’s remarks.
