It's enough to make you Epstein… Trump punts on AG nomination
Trump threatened to withdraw Blanche’s nomination rather than accept limits on the IRS settlement.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYDaily Kos is an established political blog, but this article is credited to a community author and offers limited sourcing and transparency about the reporting behind several claims. Its pointed framing and mixed presentation warrant a lower score than a newsroom with clearly documented reporting and corrections practices.
- Source type — A political blog rather than a wire service or newsroom with a clearly stated institutional reporting process.
- Author attribution — An author is identified, but the byline is a community username and the article does not explain the reporting process.
- Editorial standards — The page combines pointed commentary with reported material and includes assertions with limited attribution.
- Transparency — Some claims are attributed to people familiar with the situation, but sourcing is not consistently detailed.
The article identifies the senators’ objections, describes the settlement and reports the nomination’s procedural obstacle. However, it relies on limited sourcing, gives little detail about the administration’s case for the settlement, and includes broad claims about the acting attorney general’s tenure without much supporting context.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story reports the senators’ objections and includes Trump’s stated threat, but it gives little space to the administration’s reasoning for the settlement or a detailed response to the concerns raised. The available sourcing is also limited.
- Counterarguments presented — Trump’s post is quoted, but the administration’s rationale for the settlement is not developed.
- Source diversity — The article refers to people familiar with the situation but otherwise provides few distinct sources.
- Omitted context — The terms and legal basis of the settlement are not explained in depth.
- Loaded language — The headline and opening use pointed wordplay about Trump.
The headline and opening use a mocking, critical framing of Trump, and the story emphasizes the alleged personal benefits of the settlement. The body also includes attributed descriptions of the dispute and Trump’s stated position, so the framing is not uniformly polemical.
- Language tone — The headline pun and opening phrasing are derisive toward Trump.
- Framing — The deal is framed around its potential benefits to Trump and his family.
- Source selection — The article presents the senators’ objections and Trump’s post, but offers limited explanation of the administration’s position.
- Headline — The headline’s wordplay signals a critical stance rather than neutral description.
President Trump threatened to withdraw Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination and resubmit it after Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis leave office. The senators are seeking limits on a settlement involving Trump and the IRS before allowing the nomination to advance.
Trump said he could temporarily withdraw Blanche’s nomination and put it forward again after Cornyn and Tillis leave office. The article says the White House had not formally withdrawn the nomination and had given no guidance on whether or when it would do so. The senators object to a settlement negotiated by Trump, Blanche and Trump’s personal lawyers, which the article says would give Trump, his family and businesses broad immunity from IRS audits. The senators want limits on the deal; the administration has refused.
Blanche’s nomination could not advance in the Senate Judiciary Committee without Republican support, and the article says Cornyn’s and Tillis’s opposition left it two votes short, leading the committee to scrap a scheduled vote. It also reports that Trump said Blanche could remain acting attorney general and that the administration might renominate him later.
Community verdict
9 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →President threatening to withdraw and later resubmit Blanche’s nomination
Senator opposing Blanche’s nomination unless limits are placed on the Trump-IRS settlement
Tillis's version of this story ↗Attorney general nominee involved in negotiating the IRS settlement
Blanche's version of this story ↗Senator opposing Blanche’s nomination unless limits are placed on the Trump-IRS settlement
Cornyn's version of this story ↗Former attorney general mentioned as Blanche’s predecessor
EPA administrator named as a possible replacement for Blanche
Texas attorney general named as a possible replacement for Blanche
Florida governor named as a possible replacement for Blanche
Utah senator named as a possible replacement for Blanche
Part of a bigger story
33 OUTLETSOutlets agree that President Donald Trump said he might withdraw Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination after Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis withheld support amid a dispute over a Justice Department fund and a tax-related settlement. The dispute delayed a committee vote on Blanche’s nomination. Left-leaning outlets stress the settlement’s connection to Trump and portray his response as prioritizing his own interests; center outlets mostly present a nomination standoff over the senators’ demands; right-leaning outlets emphasize Trump’s confrontation with the holdouts, with some casting their opposition as obstruction.
- ARTICLES
- 41
- OUTLETS
- 33
- AVG CRED
- 69
- The Independent · Trump and Blanche keep the president's corrupt IRS immunity deal — and throw January 6 rioters to the curb
- myMotherLode.com - The Mother Lode's Local News, Sports, Weather, Movies, Classifieds, Yellow Pages, Real Estate · The Latest: Blanche rescinds fund for Trump allies after senators threaten to block his AG bid
- The New Republic · Transcript: Trump Rages as GOP Sen. Nukes IRS Fund in Epic Humiliation
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