Blanche kills $1.8B fund, clearing path for Senate vote
What's next: The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday after GOP holdouts won written limits on IRS audit protections.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally revoked a proposed $1.8 billion fund tied to President Donald Trump’s IRS settlement, a step that removed a key obstacle to his Senate confirmation. Blanche also narrowed a related tax provision so protections apply only to the named parties in the lawsuit and, Fox News reported, only retroactively rather than to future filings. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had stalled the nomination over concerns the fund could compensate Jan. 6 defendants, including people convicted of assaulting police. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to meet Tuesday and could vote on Blanche’s nomination.