Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has rung a potential death knell for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation.
Tillis, in post on X Saturday morning, said that he won't vote to confirm Blanche as attorney general after President Donald Trump wrote a Truth Social rant declaring his controversial anti-weaponization fund wasn't dead.
"Despite comments as late as yesterday that the fund is dead, President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks," Tillis wrote. "It’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal."
Tillis added, "Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday."
Blanche can't afford to lose even one vote from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as every Democrat on the GOP-led committee is expected to vote against him.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has also cast doubt on whether he'll vote for Blanche. Tillis demanded that Blanche meet with Epstein survivors to secure his vote, but survivors say that the meeting didn't go well.
Blanche's confirmation vote was supposed to be held earlier this week, but it was delayed. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement it was delayed to give time to shore up the votes.
The $1.776 anti-weaponization fund, which critics worry will pay Trump allies and Jan. 6 rioters, has been hurting Blanche's chances as well. Senators have asked him to put in writing his vow that the fund is dead, but Blanche has refused.
Trump said it was "dead" in a press briefing on Friday, but in his Saturday morning Truth Social post, he wrote that he'll "push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill...PASSED."
In his angry retort, Tillis called the fund "bogus."
