United States • • EPM Editorial Desk • 🌿 Progressive
Nearly $1.8 billion fund and tax immunity deal fuel Blanche confirmation crisis
A Justice Department deal including a nearly $1.8 billion fund and broad tax immunity for Trump and his family has triggered Republican opposition to Todd…
Trump holds DOJ continuity as Blanche hits Senate impasse
President Trump announced he may temporarily withdraw Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination after Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis blocked…
A Justice Department agreement that creates a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and grants sweeping tax immunity to President Trump, his family, and his businesses has stalled Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation, according to NPR. Two Republican senators refused to back the nomination, and Trump responded by threatening a temporary withdrawal.
🔹 What happened: The DOJ deal ended Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. Its first component established a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who allege they were unfairly targeted by the government — a category that, according to the source, could include defendants charged with wrongdoing related to January 6. The second component is a broad immunity deal shielding Trump, his family, and his businesses from audits of past tax returns. Senators Cornyn and Tillis demanded written guarantees from the DOJ on the scope of that immunity deal. The DOJ refused to provide them. Blanche publicly stated the fund is not moving forward, but no written commitment exists to confirm that. Cornyn told reporters the DOJ knows what it needs to do and simply refuses to do it.
🔹 Why it matters: For citizens and taxpayers concerned about the impartial application of the law, the deal raises direct questions. A nearly $1.8 billion public fund could compensate individuals charged in connection with January 6, according to the source's own description. The tax immunity deal, without written limits, remains open-ended. Tillis and Cornyn are the only formal obstacles at this stage — and both leave Congress in January. Trump has already signaled he will renominate Blanche once they are gone, meaning the incoming Senate will face this confirmation without either senator's objections on record.
📌 EPM Take: Here is what the confirmation fight is actually about: a public fund of nearly $1.8 billion with no written boundaries, and a tax immunity deal broad enough that two senators from Trump's own party demanded written limits the DOJ refused to provide. Blanche said the fund is not moving forward — verbally. Cornyn's statement to reporters this week was precise: they know what they need to do and they refuse to do it. If the incoming Senate does not ask the same questions Cornyn and Tillis asked, the answers those senators never received will simply disappear. That is the scenario no one is naming.
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President Trump made clear Thursday that the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general remains on his terms, according to NPR. Facing opposition from Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, Trump announced he would temporarily withdraw the nomination — and renominate Blanche the moment both senators leave Congress in January.
🔹 What happened: Cornyn and Tillis blocked Blanche's advancement in committee after objecting to a Justice Department agreement that settled Trump's IRS lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns. The deal created a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate people who allege they were unfairly targeted by the government, and a broad immunity component shielding Trump, his family, and his businesses from audits of past tax returns. Both senators demanded written guarantees from the DOJ on the scope of the immunity deal. The DOJ declined. Blanche, serving as acting attorney general, has stated publicly that the fund is not moving forward. Trump posted on social media that he would pull the nomination temporarily if the senators failed to act and would renominate Blanche after they departed.
🔹 Why it matters: Trump's approach preserves operational continuity at the Justice Department regardless of the confirmation outcome. Blanche remains as acting attorney general through the impasse. Cornyn lost his Senate primary this year to a Trump-backed challenger; Tillis announced his retirement after public clashes with the administration over its tax-and-spending legislation. Neither returns in January. Trump's stated strategy — hold the acting role, reset with the incoming Senate — avoids a leadership vacuum at the DOJ while removing the two senators blocking the confirmation from the equation entirely.
📌 EPM Take: What this episode demonstrates is that Trump's confirmation strategy is not about persuasion — it is about sequencing. Cornyn and Tillis are outgoing senators whose leverage expires with their mandates in January. Trump wrote as much publicly, noting their political careers had been ended by his action. The real question is not whether Blanche gets confirmed — it is whether the incoming Senate will press the same questions about the nearly $1.8 billion fund and the tax immunity scope that Cornyn and Tillis raised. EPM has covered the pattern of executive appointments moving through a more compliant confirmation environment. If the new Senate does not ask, the written guarantees Cornyn demanded will never exist. That is the gap this story is leaving open.
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Fondo de 1.800 millones y blindaje fiscal avivan crisis en nominacion Blanche
El Departamento de Justicia alcanzo un acuerdo que incluye un fondo de casi 1.800 millones de dolares y una amplia inmunidad fiscal para Trump y su familia…
Trump mantiene control sobre el DOJ mientras Blanche enfrenta impasse en Senado
Trump anticipo el retiro temporal de la nominacion de Todd Blanche como fiscal general ante el bloqueo de los senadores republicanos John Cornyn y Thom Tillis…
Un acuerdo del Departamento de Justicia que crea un fondo de casi 1.800 millones de dolares y concede inmunidad fiscal amplia al presidente Trump, su familia y sus empresas ha puesto en jaque la confirmacion de Todd Blanche como fiscal general, segun NPR. Dos senadores republicanos se negaron a respaldar la nominacion, y Trump respondio amenazando con retirarla temporalmente.
🔹 Lo que paso: El acuerdo del DOJ puso fin a la demanda de Trump contra el IRS por la filtracion de sus declaraciones de impuestos. El primer componente es un fondo anti-represalia de casi 1.800 millones de dolares destinado a compensar a personas que aleguen haber sido objetivo injusto del gobierno — lo que podria incluir a personas acusadas de irregularidades en relacion con el 6 de enero. El segundo componente es un acuerdo de inmunidad amplia para Trump, su familia y sus empresas frente a auditorias de declaraciones fiscales pasadas. Los senadores John Cornyn de Texas y Thom Tillis de Carolina del Norte exigieron garantias escritas sobre el alcance de ese acuerdo de inmunidad. El DOJ se nego. Blanche ha dicho publicamente que el fondo no esta avanzando, pero sin documento escrito, esa declaracion no tiene respaldo formal.
🔹 Por que importa: Para los contribuyentes y ciudadanos que siguen de cerca la independencia del sistema de justicia, el acuerdo levanta preguntas directas: el fondo podria compensar con dinero publico a personas acusadas de delitos relacionados con el 6 de enero, segun la descripcion de la propia fuente. La inmunidad fiscal para Trump y su familia, sin limites escritos, es otro punto de tension. Tillis y Cornyn, que dejan el Congreso en enero, son los unicos obstaculos formales en este momento. Trump ya anticipo renominar a Blanche una vez que ambos salgan. El nuevo Senado determinara si esa estrategia tiene exito.
📌 Conclusion EPM: La ironía aqui es concreta: el propio Departamento de Justicia, que deberia garantizar la aplicacion ecuanime de la ley, se niega a poner por escrito los limites de un acuerdo de inmunidad que beneficia directamente al presidente que lo nombro. Blanche declaro que el fondo de 1.800 millones no avanza, pero esa declaracion oral no sustituye una garantia escrita — y el DOJ sabe la diferencia. Cornyn lo dijo sin ambiguedad: saben lo que tienen que hacer y se niegan a hacerlo. La pregunta que los ciudadanos deberian plantear es simple: si los limites del acuerdo de inmunidad no pueden escribirse, es porque no existen.
✍️ EPM Editorial Desk | erickprometeomedia.com
El presidente Trump dejo claro el jueves que la confirmacion de Todd Blanche como fiscal general no es una concesion al establishment republicano, sino una decision de agenda propia, segun NPR. Ante la oposicion de los senadores John Cornyn y Thom Tillis, Trump anticipo un retiro temporal de la nominacion — y la renominacion inmediata una vez que ambos abandonen el Congreso en enero.
🔹 Lo que paso: Cornyn y Tillis bloquearon el avance de Blanche en el comite de confirmacion tras objetar un acuerdo del DOJ que cerro la demanda de Trump contra el IRS por la filtracion de sus declaraciones de impuestos. El acuerdo incluye un fondo de casi 1.800 millones de dolares para compensar a personas que aleguen haber sido objetivo injusto del gobierno, y un componente de inmunidad fiscal amplia para Trump, su familia y sus empresas frente a auditorias de declaraciones pasadas. Ambos senadores exigieron garantias escritas sobre los limites del acuerdo de inmunidad; el DOJ las nego. Blanche, quien se desempena como fiscal general interino, ha dicho que el fondo no esta avanzando. Trump respondio en redes sociales senalando que retiraria el nombre de Blanche temporalmente si los senadores no actuaban correctamente, para renominarlo despues.
🔹 Por que importa: La postura de Trump refuerza su control operativo sobre el proceso de confirmacion. Cornyn perdio su primaria ante un candidato respaldado por Trump; Tillis anuncio su retiro tras choques publicos con la administracion. Ninguno de los dos regresa al Senado en enero. La estrategia de Trump — mantener a Blanche como interino y renominarlo con el nuevo Senado — preserva la continuidad del liderazgo en el DOJ sin ceder posicion. Blanche sigue en funciones independientemente del resultado del proceso de confirmacion, lo que garantiza estabilidad operativa en el Departamento de Justicia durante el periodo de transicion.
📌 Conclusion EPM: Lo que este episodio revela con claridad es el patron de Trump frente a la resistencia interna: no negocia terminos, administra tiempos. Cornyn y Tillis son senadores salientes — su capacidad de influir sobre el DOJ expira en enero junto con sus mandatos. Trump lo sabe y lo escribio sin ambiguedad en redes sociales. El verdadero interrogante no es si Blanche sera confirmado, sino si el nuevo Senado planteara las mismas preguntas sobre el fondo de 1.800 millones y el alcance de la inmunidad fiscal. Si no lo hace, el acuerdo quedara sin supervision formal. Ese es el escenario que nadie esta nombrando.
✍️ EPM Editorial Desk | erickprometeomedia.com
