Two Republican senators who threatened to block acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's bid to lead the Justice Department said Monday that they will vote to advance his nomination, ending an impasse over plans to create a fund t o compensate allies of President Donald Trump.The statement from Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis came after Blanche issued an order late Sunday formally rescinding the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department.Cornyn and Tillis had said they would not support Blanche's nomination without written confirmation that the fund is dead.RELATED STORY | Senate delays vote on Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination over 'anti-weaponization' fundBlanche said at a June hearing that the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund to compensate those who believe they were unfairly prosecuted, as he faced bipartisan outrage over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be considered for payments. But Cornyn and Tillis, both members of the Judiciary panel, have said they wanted to see the promise in writing before they endorsed Blanche's nomination especially as Trump continued to express support for the idea.In a statement late Sunday, Blanche said the order came after good faith discussions.My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions," Blanche said.DOJ order says beyond any doubt that fund is deadIn a statement accompanying the order, the Justice Department said that although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised Congress through testimony, including under oath, as well as in written responses, that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, todays Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order.Since the settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS was announced, No Members were appointed; no funds were transferred; no process for receiving claims was established; no claims were paid, the order says. This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.The document released by Blanche on Sunday night also limits the scope of another provision of the settlement that provided broad immunity for Trump and members of his family from tax audits.The deal clarifies that the tax audit immunity agreement applies by its terms only retroactively to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings.IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | 'Forced to be with us': Blanche meets with Epstein survivors but women say he showed no sympathyTrump continues to express support for his settlementThe two sides have been negotiating for weeks, but Trump has said repeatedly during the talks that he thinks the fund should go forward and threatened to move forward with it if Blanche was not confirmed.After the Thursday vote was delayed, Trump said in a social media post that he might pull Blanches nomination and resubmit it after Cornyn and Tillis leave office next year.On Sunday evening, Trump said that people who had faced charges from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and could have benefited from the fund had their lives destroyed.This would be a reimbursement for the pain that they suffered, Trump said. A lot of people like it.On Friday, Trumps attorneys notified a court they would appeal a judges scathing ruling that characterized the settlement of the presidents lawsuit against the IRS as an improper exercise in self-dealing. The judge in her order last month referred one of Trumps attorneys for potential disciplinary action and criticized Blanches involvement in the settlement, given his prior representation of Trump.Blanche has said he disagrees with the judges insinuations about him. Justice Department lawyers had previously written in court papers that the fund was not moving forward but they refused a judges request to have Blanche and other administration officials file a declaration under penalty of perjury that the administration would not take any further action to create the fund.The Justice Department said the courts demands were unnecessary. ...read more read less