Sen. John Cornyn’s planned meeting on Wednesday with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was canceled, imperiling the chances of his nomination advancing through the Judiciary Committee this week.
The Texas Republican said he was “disappointed” to have to cancel the meeting due to the Department of Justice’s unwillingness to produce an ironclad change to the IRS settlement that spawned a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and shielded President Donald Trump from future tax audits. The DOJ did not return a request for comment.
The canceled meeting was slated to take place a day before the committee was scheduled to vote on Blanche’s nomination. Cornyn said that Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) wants an answer on how he will vote by 4 p.m. in case they need to postpone the markup. At this point, Cornyn remains an impediment.