Senate Judiciary Committee advances Blanche's nomination for attorney general

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general to the full Senate for confirmation. The panel cleared a major hurdle by overcoming concerns from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis over the $1.8 billion fund for alleged government weaponization victims and a tax immunity deal with President Trump.

Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general, rescinded his initial directive creating the fund and clarified the tax immunity deal, which covers only potential audits of previous years' tax returns for Trump, his two oldest sons, and the Trump Organization. The deal, reached in May, addresses concerns from GOP senators but remains unenforceable without the signatures of the parties involved.

With one Republican senator, Susan Collins, already voting against Blanche due to the fund and other actions, the nomination now heads to the full Senate for a vote, where a simple majority is needed for confirmation.