2026年7月29日 美国东部时间晚上8:25 / 福克斯新闻频道
参议员约翰·康恩和汤姆·蒂利斯要求先提供修改特朗普与国税局和解协议的书面提案,再进行投票
作者:亚历克斯·米勒、泰勒·奥尔森 福克斯新闻
代理司法部长托德·布兰奇在国会山举行的参议院确认听证会上面临新一轮审查。
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代理司法部长托德·布兰奇的确认机会在周三遭遇挫败,距离参议院关键投票仅剩不到24小时。
这是布兰奇自获提名接替前司法部长帕姆·邦迪以来麻烦不断的经历的又一章,归根结底,问题涉及布兰奇、司法部以及两位在参议院司法委员会掌握其任命命运的关键共和党议员。
参议员约翰·康恩(德克萨斯州共和党)和汤姆·蒂利斯(北卡罗来纳州共和党)要求司法部提供明确的书面提案,以修改今年早些时候国税局与总统唐纳德·特朗普及其家族达成的和解协议。
特朗普提名的司法部长人选托德·布兰奇面临参议院考验,这是格雷厄姆去世后首场重大确认战
托德·布兰奇,美国副检察长提名人选,2026年2月12日在华盛顿特区参议院司法委员会作证。(丹尼尔·奥尔/彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社)
参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩(南达科他州共和党)曾希望能达成协议,推动确认程序推进,将下周作为正式确认布兰奇接替邦迪的全院投票关键节点。
“我认为这目前是白宫与康恩和蒂利斯参议员之间的问题,”图恩说。“不过,是的,我鼓励他们坐下来谈判——我认为他们已经在这么做了——努力达成解决方案,以便司法委员会明天能继续审议程序,我们也能让托德·布兰奇做好全院投票的准备。”
司法部原本需在周三下午4点前向议员们提供他们要求的文件,但该机构未能做到,布兰奇通往确认的坎坷之路最终化为泡影。
在无法保证康恩或蒂利斯会投票支持布兰奇的情况下,参议院司法委员会主席查克·格拉斯利(爱荷华州共和党)选择将听证会推迟至日后举行。
他们的目标是现已失效的近20亿美元反武器化基金,以及总统的审计豁免权。两党议员都对该基金表示强烈反对,尤其担忧这笔资金会流向参与2021年1月6日国会山骚乱的人员。
特朗普的审计豁免权同样引发了众怒。布兰奇在今年早些时候宣布和解协议时曾表示,作为协议的一部分,国税局不得审计特朗普、其家人或关联公司。
民主党人在要求更换人选后否决了特朗普的顶级间谍提名,令反恐工具悬而未决
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康恩是目前态度最坚决的反对者,除非其要求得到满足。近几周来,他利用新获得的话语权从特朗普政府手中争取让步。
他推动明确终止和解协议中的审计条款,就是此类例子之一。这位资深议员将于今年年底卸任,此前他被特朗普支持的肯·帕克斯顿击败。他原计划周三上午与布兰奇会面。
但这次会面被取消,布兰奇全天在参议院四处拜会,最后在国会山与参议院多数党党鞭约翰·巴拉索(怀俄明州共和党)会面结束了当天的行程。他在离开时拒绝向记者置评。
康恩表示,“从一开始就明确了,我们期望得到一些书面提案,以修改在与总统特朗普及其团队的税务纠纷中签署的豁免文件。”
“我们需要让实际文件符合托德·布兰奇以总统代理司法部长身份所作的宣誓证词,”康恩说。“我们已经两次安排会面,但都因他们未能提供这些书面文件而取消。”
特朗普提名的司法部长人选命悬一线,关键共和党参议员拒绝做出承诺
参议员约翰·康恩(德克萨斯州共和党)2026年6月4日在华盛顿特区国会山与参议院共和党议员会面后离开。(肯特·西村/法新社 via 盖蒂图片社)
当被问及参议院确认布兰奇的进程受阻时,特朗普将自己描绘成与该事件保持距离的总统,并表示他听说自己提名的司法部长人选“进展得相当顺利”。
“嗯,我能说的就是托德·布兰奇非常出色。我原以为这会是相当常规的程序,因为他太优秀了,”特朗普在椭圆形办公室对记者说。“你找不到比他更合适的人选了。所以,我不知道,也许约翰·康恩因为我没有支持他而生气?我不知道具体是什么情况,但我没听说有什么问题。”
蒂利斯明确表示,他“并不对司法部或布兰奇有不满”。
“他们正在努力推进,但事情还是得办成,”蒂利斯说。
他还指出,获取这类书面提案的难度比表面上更大。例如,蒂利斯表示,实际的和解协议很可能是由总统的律师而非特朗普本人签署的。
“所以,你知道,有一系列相关人员需要走流程,”他说。“我理解这一点,但,你知道,如果我们能拿到相关文件,或者如果他们安排审议程序,我们有可能在周二将他的提名提交全院表决,只要我们能拿到相关措辞,我就会支持。”
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亚历克斯·米勒是福克斯新闻数字频道记者,负责报道美国参议院事务。
Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge
July 29, 2026 8:25pm EDT / Fox News
Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written proposals to modify the Trump IRS settlement before voting
By Alex Miller , Tyler Olson Fox News
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces renewed scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s chances of confirmation were derailed Wednesday, less than 24 hours before a pivotal vote in the Senate.
It’s another chapter in the troubled saga that has followed Blanche since he was tapped to replace former Attorney General Pam Bondi and one that boils down to issues among Blanche, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and two key Republicans who control his fate in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are demanding that the DOJ provide explicit, written proposals to modify the settlement deal reached between the IRS and President Donald Trump and his family earlier this year.
TRUMP AG PICK TODD BLANCHE FACES SENATE TEST IN FIRST MAJOR CONFIRMATION FIGHT SINCE GRAHAM’S DEATH
Todd Blanche, nominee for U.S. deputy attorney general, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2026.(Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had hoped a deal could be struck and allow for the confirmation to move forward, eying next week as the major floor vote to formally confirm Blanche as Bondi’s replacement.
“I think that that’s an issue between, right now, the White House and Senators Cornyn and Tillis,” Thune said. “But, yeah, I would encourage them to sit down, which I think they are, and try to come to a resolution there so that the markup can continue tomorrow, and we can get Todd Blanche ready for the floor.”
The DOJ had until 4 p.m. Wednesday to get the lawmakers what they wanted, but the agency fell short, and Blanche’s bumpy carriage ride to confirmation turned into a pumpkin.
Without a guarantee that Cornyn or Tillis would vote to confirm Blanche, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, opted to postpone the hearing until a later date.
Their targets are the now-defunct, nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund and the president’s audit immunity. Republicans and Democrats alike railed against the fund, particularly over concerns that the funding would go to people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.
Trump’s audit immunity has similarly ruffled feathers. Blanche, in his announcement of the settlement deal earlier this year, outlined that, as part of the agreement, the IRS would not be allowed to audit Trump, his family or affiliated companies.
DEMS REJECT TRUMP’S TOP SPY PICK AFTER DEMANDING REPLACEMENT, LEAVING COUNTER-TERROR TOOL IN AIR
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Cornyn has proven the most resistant until his demands are met. He’s used his newfound freedom to extract concessions from the Trump administration in recent weeks.
His push for an explicit end to the audit language in the settlement agreement is another such example. The longtime lawmaker, who will exit the Senate at the end of this year after being ousted by the Trump-backed Ken Paxton, was set to meet Blanche Wednesday morning.
But the confab was called off, and Blanche continued making the rounds in the Senate throughout the day, capping off his visit to the Capitol with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo. He declined to comment to reporters on his way out.
Cornyn said it was “made clear from the outset that we expected some written proposals to modify the release that was signed in the tax dispute with President Trump and his organization.”
“We need to conform the actual document to what Todd Blanche testified under oath as the president’s acting attorney general,” Cornyn said. “We’ve had two meetings scheduled that have now been canceled because they have not been responsive in providing those written documents.”
TRUMP AG PICK HANGS BY A THREAD AS KEY GOP SENATORS REFUSE TO COMMIT
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, departs a meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., June 4, 2026.(Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump, when asked about the holdup in the Senate for Blanche, portrayed himself as a president at an arm’s length from the situation and said he heard his attorney general pick was “going through quite nicely.”
“Well, all I can say is Todd Blanche is outstanding. And I thought he’s — I thought it was pretty routine because he’s so good,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You just wouldn’t find a better person. So, I don’t know, maybe John Cornyn is upset with me because I didn’t endorse him. I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t heard that there’s a problem.”
Tillis made clear he doesn’t “have a beef with DOJ or with Blanche.”
“They’re trying to get it done, but still gotta get it done,” Tillis said.
He also noted that the number of hurdles that getting those kinds of written proposals through was more extensive than meets the eye. For example, Tillis said the actual settlement likely was signed by the president’s lawyer and not Trump himself.
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“So there’s, you know, there’s a circle of people that have to go through the loop,” he said. “And I get that, but, you know, if we can get it done or possibly get him reported out on Tuesday, if they schedule a markup, I would support that if we get the language.”
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.