Sen. Thom Tillis blasted President Donald Trump on Friday for taking advice from an “incompetent personal advisor,” saying the counsel has turned a controversial settlement into a “bogus” obstacle that is blocking the confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The North Carolina Republican, who is retiring at the end of his term, joined Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in holding up Blanche’s nomination until the White House formally ends the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. The fund, created as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns, has drawn sharp Republican criticism for potentially allowing people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection to seek taxpayer-funded restitution.
Tillis posted his rebuke on X after Trump lashed out at Cornyn earlier in the day, claiming January 6 defendants had been “hunted down like dogs.”
“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called ‘Fund,’ which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Tillis rejected that framing outright.
“While I never disagreed that the Biden Administration pursued a number of vindictive prosecutions related to January 6, the criminals who assaulted police officers and defiled our nation’s Capitol are not ‘great American patriots’ who are ‘victims of government abuse,’” he wrote. “Anyone who attacked law enforcement should still be in prison, not getting a check from the federal government.”
He placed the blame for the current impasse squarely on an unnamed Trump insider.
“It’s a shame his confirmation has hit a snag only because an incompetent personal advisor to the President refuses to amend the bogus settlement,” Tillis continued. “I will continue working in good faith to put an end to this legal and political albatross and prevent any potential misallocation of taxpayer dollars.”
Tillis and Cornyn met privately with Blanche on Thursday to discuss the fund. Trump has said he may temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination and wait until the two senators leave office in January rather than meet their demand for written assurances that the fund is permanently shut down.
The dispute has already forced Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to postpone a planned committee vote. Tillis has previously called the fund “stupid on stilts” and a “payout pot for punks,” arguing it is politically toxic for Republican candidates heading into the midterms.
Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, has been serving as acting attorney general since April. His permanent confirmation remains stalled amid the broader Republican friction over the settlement and the administration’s handling of Jan. 6-related issues.
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