Blanche currently serves as acting attorney general and is Trump's nominee for the permanent job.
The money for the payout pool came from the settlement that resolved Trump's legal action against the IRS over the disclosure of his tax filings. When the Justice Department unveiled the program earlier this year, it quickly drew criticism, including from members of Trump's own party.
On Saturday, Trump said he would "push hard to get the Anti-Weaponization Bill" passed and make the fund federal law.
"It will immediately be back on the table, and I will get it done," he wrote.
Trump has often said his anti-weaponization program is popular, yet lawmakers have already voted against it, and he lacks the backing of 50 senators needed to establish it. His choice to continue advocating for the fund could bring back a divisive issue just before the November midterms.
At his July 15 confirmation hearing, Blanche testified under oath that the fund was "dead."
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Even on Friday, Trump called the fund "dead," adding: "But, you know, I wish it weren't, to be honest with you."
On Saturday, Trump changed course again. That contradiction is the reason this confirmation is stuck.
Trump has shifted back and forth on this matter ever since the payout program was unveiled.
The opposition to Blanche is coming from Republican senators, not Democrats.
Tillis responded by repeating that he would hold up Blanche's confirmation.
On social media, Tillis wrote: "President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks either by inappropriately establishing another bogus fund or pushing Congress to vote for a bill that the majority of Republicans in the Senate would be against."
Efforts to confirm Blanche have run into resistance over the fund and an accompanying arrangement that provides Trump and his relatives broad immunity from tax probes. Trump also repeated his prior warning that Blanche could remain acting attorney general, signaling he might give up on getting him confirmed as the permanent head of the Justice Department.
GOP lawmakers have so far failed to steer Trump toward economic and affordability issues, with surveys indicating that the cost of living will heavily influence the November elections.
That would leave the department under an acting leader. The outcome also depends on whether Trump can revive the $1.8 billion fund.
The standoff has already drawn public objections from Senate Republicans and stalled action on the nomination. Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis have said they want written guarantees that the fund is gone and new limits on Trump's IRS immunity deal. GOP lawmakers have struggled to turn the conversation to economic and affordability issues, even as surveys show the cost of living will heavily influence the November elections. The Justice Department is still waiting on a permanent leader, and the $1.8 billion fund remains at the center of the fight.
Blanche is already exercising the attorney general's powers in an acting capacity, but a permanent appointment still needs Senate approval. Trump's renewed push for the fund gives Republican skeptics another reason to withhold support. Until the standoff is resolved, the department could keep operating under temporary leadership as the midterms approach.
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