Trump defends $1.8bn fund that stalls Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Todd Blanche 'should be immediately approved' by the Senate, while defending the $1.8bn compensation plan proposed by his Justice Department. The plan has stalled Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general.

Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since Trump dismissed Pam Bondi in April and is the nominee for the permanent post. Before joining the Justice Department as Bondi’s deputy, Blanche was Trump’s personal defense lawyer, including in the New York hush-money case.

The fund originates from a settlement proposal in Trump’s $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Under the terms, the DOJ would create a secretive fund with payments to the president’s allies and no restrictions, while barring the IRS from auditing Trump’s tax returns. Democrats and government watchdogs have labeled it a slush fund, warning it could even compensate people convicted for their involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot.

Blanche later said the fund was dead after a strong backlash, but two Republican senators on the judiciary committee, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, are demanding written assurances that it will never be activated. Without that guarantee, the committee vote on Blanche’s nomination was postponed this week.

In his Truth Social post, Trump argued that his supporters deserved compensation for being 'treated so badly' and said he gave up substantial payments for himself. He also accused Cornyn of having no problem with the fund until Trump endorsed his primary opponent, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who defeated Cornyn by roughly 28 points in May – an unprecedented loss for a Texas Republican senator in a renomination bid.

Democrats on the judiciary committee have said Blanche privately admitted to Senator Dick Durbin that pushing the fund was a mistake. He has also faced questions about his firm’s past payments from a Trump-aligned PAC and his handling of the Epstein files. Senate Majority Leader John Thune expects the nomination to return for a vote once Cornyn and Tillis are satisfied. Trump has said he is willing to temporarily withdraw Blanche’s name and resubmit it later, when the two senators are 'out of office', keeping Blanche as acting attorney general in the meantime.