WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces a 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline to resolve objections from two Republican senators regarding a Department of Justice settlement before the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on his nomination. The committee is scheduled to cast its votes on Blanche’s advancement on Thursday morning.

Senator John Cornyn canceled a scheduled meeting with Blanche on Wednesday morning after determining that the Department of Justice had not met his demands concerning the settlement terms. Cornyn stated that he is waiting for the department to provide written modifications to the agreement, which originally established an $1.8 billion compensation fund. “I’m not prepared to vote yes. Let me put that,” he said.

“We’re trying to help them get to a conclusion here, and they won’t let us. It’s befuddling to me,” he said. He added that department officials know what actions are required but have refused to take them. “They know what they need to do but they simply refuse to do it,” he said.

A Department of Justice official stated that the department had provided a written proposal to Cornyn’s staff the previous day. Cornyn countered that he has not seen any written document from the Department of Justice that addresses his specific concerns. He noted that the department had been silent for the preceding 24 hours.

“I think my staff is talking to them, but we’re not — they know what they need to do. They just don’t want to do it,” he said.

Senator Thom Tillis supports Cornyn’s position on the settlement but offered a different assessment of the negotiations. Tillis said he is being realistic about planning a markup rather than walking away from the talks. “I don’t think there’s a game being played here. I think that Blanche genuinely wants to get it done because he recognizes it as the distraction that it is,” he said.

Tillis noted that his office had been in contact with Blanche’s staff to facilitate an agreement. “My office has been in touch with Blanche’s staff over the last hour. So, we’re trying to work just to get the — I really do believe it’s just a drafting exercise. I don’t believe that we’re apart in terms of the objective. And so with that, hopefully we can we can get it done,” he said.

He acknowledged that if an agreement is not reached, it could affect the markup scheduled for Thursday. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley gave Cornyn until 4 p.m. Wednesday to determine if the vote on Blanche’s nomination could proceed. When asked about the status of the negotiations, Grassley said, “You’ll have to ask Tillis and Cornyn about that.” Cornyn indicated that a postponement is being discussed but is not the primary objective. “Then Sen. Grassley might decide to postpone it. But that’s not — I don’t think that’s the number one goal right now,” he said.

The settlement in question resolved a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the release of his tax returns. The agreement included terms that immunize Trump and his family from tax audits. It also originally included the creation of a $1.776 billion compensation fund described as an “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The Department of Justice stated in June that it was no longer moving forward with the fund, and the administration asserted in a court filing that it had abandoned the initiative.

Blanche addressed the settlement during his confirmation hearing, stating that the compensation fund is “dead.” He testified that the tax addendum binds only the IRS and the Treasury Department. “The settlement is not intended to provide prospective immunity from tax audits,” he said. He clarified that the deal covers any existing audits but does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings. “The settlement does not apply to any government agency other than the IRS and Treasury Department,” he said.

Blanche has served as the acting United States attorney general since April 2026. He previously served as the United States deputy attorney general since January 2025.

The Senate Judiciary Committee consists of 12 Republican members and 10 Democrats. Every Democrat on the committee is expected to vote against Blanche’s nomination, making the support of Republican members critical for advancement. Cornyn lost the Republican primary in May to Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Cornyn is not returning to Congress next year. Tillis is retiring at the end of his term.

Blanche met with Senator John Curtis of Utah on Wednesday but did not answer questions about the meeting when he departed. He also did not respond to questions from reporters on Wednesday afternoon. Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein urged lawmakers to vote against Blanche’s nomination on Wednesday.

He posted on social media that there is no deal on the nomination and that the Department of Justice knows what it must do. “So they better get real, and there's not much time left,” he said.