Donald Trump said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blancheās nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicansā demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family.
After failed negotiations forced the delay of a committee vote to advance Blancheās nomination, Trump suggested he was holding firm against pressure from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis. They have expressed concerns about the controversial settlement of Trumpās lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, which a judge denounced as an exercise in self-dealing.
The senators said the Justice Department seemed interested in reaching an agreement with them, but the White House wouldnāt budge to aid the confirmation of Trumpās loyal former personal attorney, who has aggressively pursued the administrationās priorities as acting attorney general. Instead, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blancheās nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year.
Exactlyā¦ And this is part of my bigger point: Trump thinks that heās somehow gonna wait out the midterm elections and come out on the winning side by re-introducing Blancheās nomination afterward, but itās likely heāll have even a worse chance of getting him confirmed then.