Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters on Tuesday that there’s a chance the confirmation vote to move Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination out of committee may be postponed — or it may not.
Cornyn said a delay in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s scheduled vote (set, for now, for 9:00 a.m. ET Thursday) is “being discussed but hopefully … won’t be necessary,” Politico reported. That delay is being discussed because Cornyn, it appears, has not reached an agreement with the White House about how to edit the settlement agreement that created the (for now) defunct $1.8 billion slush fund.
“If there’s not enough votes to confirm him, then Senator Grassley might decide to postpone it. But I don’t think that’s the No. 1 goal right now,” Cornyn said.
If there are not enough votes to move acting AG Blanche’s nomination to serve in the position permanently it will, presumably, be because Cornyn has decided to not support his nomination — and potentially Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), too.
Both have made their distrust of Blanche over the supposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and the settlement agreement that shielded Trump from tax audits clear for weeks now. Tillis indicated during the confirmation hearing that he would be satisfied with Blanche weighing in on legislative language for a bill that would officially render the cartoonishly corrupt fund dead. Cornyn has remained unconvinced, demanding that changes be made to the settlement agreement in writing in order to secure his vote. But Republican senators’ “undecided” theatrics are often little more than that — and even supposedly ardent demands from Cornyn have appeared flexible, as my colleague David Kurtz noted in today’s Morning Memo:
Last week, Cornyn said he wasn’t just interested in making sure the bogus anti-weaponization fund was dead, but also nixing the tax immunity Trump received when he settled his lawsuit against the IRS. To do this, Cornyn wants the settlement documents amended because by their own terms only the parties can modify the documents. But yesterday in remarks to reporters, Cornyn’s own description of what he was after seemed more narrow than at first appeared.
It appears as though Tillis is also potentially back in the undecided camp, per ABC News:
Tillis also said he wasn’t ready to commit to voting for Blanche’s nomination, telling reporters Monday that he, too, is still waiting to see changes made to the IRS settlement.
Cornyn says he has been clear about what he wants from the DOJ, telling reporters on Tuesday that “they know what they need to do,” referencing the Justice Department.
“They just don’t want to do it.”
Ohio GOP Guv Warns Trump Against Mass Deportation of Haitians in Springfield
“This is a very, very big mistake.”
That’s Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine telling reporters that he does not think it would be a good idea for the Trump administration to carry out some mass deportation operation in Springfield, Ohio. After the Supreme Court ruled that Haitian refugees in the U.S. no longer qualify for Temporary Protected Status, the Trump administration has been signaling plans to descend on the city, which is home to tens of thousands of Haitians, and send them back.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly planning to begin arresting Haitian immigrants as soon as this week, CBS News reported.
“The Haitians who apparently are going to be kicked out of Ohio are people who are working,” DeWine told reporters Monday. “This is a very, very big mistake.”
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Stunning New Texas Senate Race Poll
The latest survey of the U.S. Senate race from Texas Public Opinion Research shows Democrat James Talarico leading Republican Ken Paxton, 45% to 40%, marking the Austin state representative’s largest lead in any public poll taken during the general election period.
Since Paxton locked up the GOP nomination in late May, polling of the contest has found a neck-and-neck race with neither candidate able to break 50%. But TPOR’s poll found Talarico leading among voters who do not have a college degree — a group that has consistently favored Republicans in Texas and across the country — and dominating among independents, less than a quarter of whom said they planned to vote for Paxton. The attorney general also had weaker Republican support than in other recent surveys, with nearly one in five GOP voters saying they were undecided or would vote for Talarico.
Here’s More From TPM Today
Emine Yücel has the latest on Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) demands that Sen. Mitch McConnell make some sort of public remarks to show that he is still able to serve out the rest of his term: Kentucky Gov. Demands McConnell Give Verbal Address as Proof He Can Serve or Resign
Kate Riga is tracking the various legal challenges to Trump’s spring executive order attempting to severely restricting mail-in voting, among other things: While One Challenge to Trump’s Election Order Reaches SCOTUS, He Notches Early Win in Parallel Case
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is not taking Trump’s SAVE Act pressure campaign too seriously, for now, John Light notes the The Brief this morning: The Brief: Majority Leader Thune Tries to Dismiss Trump’s Latest SAVE Act Demands
Yesterday’s Top Story
The Brief: Trump Admin Concedes a Blunt Truth About Russ Vought’s OMB
What I’m Reading
Study finds alarming level of microplastics in heart attack patients’ blood
Lindsey Graham’s death leaves Trump reflecting on his own mortality
I realize that their media profile is raised because they are Republicans defying their party consensus, but I am grateful to Cornyn and Massie (and Kinzinger and Cheney before them) for sticking it to Trump on their way out.
Blocking Blanche would be a hell of final act.
When Mom was 13 her daddy came home one day and said “I don’t want you being 15 with a kid on each hip so we’re moving to Houston”
Then he was seriously burned in a company accident (Freon and Ammonia} and put a bullit in his head
First, why is our Congress conducting secret talks with Donald Trump to absolve Donald Trump and his entire family from ever not having paid or from ever having to pay any taxes?
Second, why is our Chief Law Enforcement Officer unable to speak plainly and clearly, and commit to never facilitating theft by anyone in the government, including the heads of each branch?