Two key Republican senators say they will support Todd Blanche's nomination for US attorney-general, paving the way for his confirmation after reaching a deal that would rescind an "anti-weaponisation" package widely criticised as a slush fund for supporters of US President Donald Trump.
Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had held up Mr Blanche's nomination as they sought written confirmation that the Justice Department would not move forward with the $US1.8 billion ($2.5 billion) fund.
Mr Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Mr Trump now serving as acting attorney-general, posted a statement on social media on Sunday saying the fund, which he had previously indicated he would not move forward with, had now been formally rescinded.
"We want to express our gratitude to Mr Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon," Senators Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement.
Their support likely enables the committee to advance Mr Blanche's nomination on Tuesday, local time. A vote by the full Senate could come as early as Saturday, unless Democrats agree to an earlier vote.
The agreement appears to resolve one of the highest-profile Republican challenges to Mr Trump in Congress, led by the two senators. Senator Tillis is retiring in January, and Senator Cornyn lost his primary for the Republican nomination in his state, after Mr Trump endorsed other Senate candidates in each of their states.
The fund was created as part of a legal settlement to resolve a $US10 billion ($14 billion) lawsuit Mr Trump filed against his own government, alleging that the Internal Revenue Service had mishandled his tax records.
Supporters say the fund was intended to compensate people they argue were unfairly targeted by the federal government.
However, critics, including Senators Tillis and Cornyn, said it could direct taxpayer money to Trump allies, including those who assaulted police officers during the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
The legitimacy of the settlement was also recently called into question by US District Judge Kathleen Williams, who labelled Mr Trump's initial lawsuit an unparalleled exercise in self-dealing, filed to "manipulate the judicial process".
Mr Trump said on Monday he was aware that the two Republican senators would vote to advance Mr Blanche's nomination.
"I understand there's been a sign-off, but … I don't know what they agreed," the president told reporters.
"I think Todd Blanche agreed to reconfirm things that he's already said, and what he said was OK."
Deal retains ban on audit of past tax claims
The Republican senators had also objected to a related order that barred the IRS from auditing past tax returns for Mr Trump, his relatives and his companies for any tax returns filed before May 18.
They said they wanted clarifications to narrow to whom and how it applied to ensure Mr Trump did not receive blanket tax immunity forever.
Mr Blanche obliged, specifying that the order applies only to Mr Trump, his sons and the family business, and that their future tax returns could still be investigated.
"The department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share," Senators Tillis and Cornyn said.
Mr Blanche's order stated that the tax order "applied by its terms only retroactively". However, critics said immunity for Mr Trump's past tax returns could still save the president millions, and that the settlement agreement requires the approval of both sides, including Mr Trump's personal lawyers, to change it.
Mr Trump's legal team has not signed the order and has not yet publicly commented on the decision.
"They don't pull back on the ongoing attempts to give the president, his family, and his affiliates unauthorised immunity from tax audits," Brandon DeBot, policy director at the nonpartisan Tax Law Center, said in a statement.
Mr Blanche has served as deputy attorney-general since the beginning of Mr Trump's second term, and as acting attorney-general since April this year, when the president fired former Florida attorney-general Pam Bondi.
He previously defended Mr Trump in several criminal cases, including charges related to his hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, charges related to his attempts to pressure Georgia's secretary of state into overturning 2020 election results, and his felony conviction for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The role of attorney-general, while prominent in a president's cabinet, has traditionally been viewed as being separate from day-to-day political considerations, with presidents staying out of decisions regarding the Justice Department's prosecutions and other legal proceedings.
Mr Trump has up-ended this convention, placing overt pressure on his attorneys-general to carry out political prosecutions and firing or forcing the resignation of high-ranking department officials.
