Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis have become the public faces of wider, quieter concerns within their party over Todd Blanche’s nomination as US attorney general. Their resistance matters because Republican support in the Senate Judiciary Committee is tight enough for either senator to delay or block the nomination’s progress.

Both senators want written assurances that a proposed $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund”, included in a settlement involving President Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, cannot be revived. Blanche has said the fund is no longer proceeding, but Cornyn and Tillis have also sought clarity on provisions protecting Trump and his family from tax audits, leaving the planned committee vote in doubt.