Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, we dig into the uncertain paths forward for Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination and the Iran war.Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.— Adam WollnerTrump’s IRS carveout threatens to hold up Todd Blanche’s AG nominationTodd Blanche’s bid to the next attorney general faced a setback today as two key Republicans pressed the Justice Department to commit in writing to kill an “anti-weaponization” fund that could give money to President Donald Trump’s allies and restrict the scope of the tax audit immunity given to the him and his family members.The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing to advance Blanche’s nomination tomorrow morning.
But GOP Sens.John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who have clashed with Trump and are not facing re-election in November, have emerged as potential roadblocks on Blanche’s path to the full Senate.
Much of the discussion has been around the “anti-weaponization fund” that was established under a purported settlement between Trump and the executive branch he controls over a lawsuit the president filed over the disclosure of his tax records, which led to a five-year prison sentence for a former IRS contractor.A federal judge in Virginia indefinitely blocked the fund after a former Jan.6 prosecutor sued.
A federal judge in Florida found that Trump’s IRS lawsuit was brought in “bad faith” for an “improper purpose,” and ordered sanctions against several people involved, including Blanche.But the settlement agreement also had provisions that offered Trump — along with his family members and companies — some protection from IRS audits.Cornyn, who lost his GOP primary earlier this year to Trump-backed Ken Paxton, told reporters that ...