Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) indicated Thursday that he is prepared to vote against President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, unless a dispute over a controversial "anti-weaponization fund" is resolved.

Blanche, who served as Trump's personal criminal defense attorney before being tapped to lead the Department of Justice, has seen his nomination held up amid his refusal to put in writing a commitment that the DOJ will not pursue the fund, which is tied to Trump's settlement with the IRS.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit Trump filed against the federal government for $10 billion after his tax returns were exposed, along with those of over 400,000 other Americans and businesses. The underlying data breach involved an IRS contractor who leaked the returns, one of the largest tax-data exposures in the agency's history. Politico reported on the IRS data leak that triggered the litigation.

Trump has been pushing the government to settle the case with an agreement that would establish a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate individuals who believe they have been wronged by the U.S. government. Critics have raised concerns that the fund could be used to reward political allies, while Cornyn has focused his objections on provisions he says would grant Trump preferential treatment unavailable to ordinary litigants.

Cornyn, speaking to MS NOW's Ali Vitali, said he wanted confirmation that the language in the contract between the U.S. government and Trump would not change — even after a federal judge rejected the deal.

"This settlement agreement can be modified, may be modified only upon the written agreement of the parties," the contract reads, according to Cornyn.

During a committee hearing, Cornyn asked Blanche whether the parties had amended the language to state that the fund would no longer be created. Blanche answered, "no."

That response, Cornyn noted, contradicts Blanche's claim that the fund was dead, since the contract language still keeps it in place. The senator said he would be satisfied if the two claims could be reconciled.

"But, I don't know, somebody somewhere, I don't know whether it's the White House, or somebody works there or somebody works for the president, is basically telling them don't agree to those terms," Cornyn said. "And so we're kind of back to square one."

When Vitali asked whether Cornyn had received everything he needed from the DOJ — and whether he was willing to vote "no" on Blanche — the senator was direct.

"I am prepared to vote no. But I do — I do think, I owe it to my constituents and, to Mr. Blanche to try to negotiate in good faith. And that's what we've been doing. And, so we'll, we'll see where things are this morning," Cornyn said.

A potential "no" vote from Cornyn, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former Texas attorney general, could complicate Blanche's path to confirmation, particularly if other Republicans follow his lead.

Cornyn noted that he had not spoken directly with the president, but suggested that such a conversation could go a long way toward resolving the impasse.

"Yeah. He could fix this in a minute. But, I don't know whether — who he's listening to or whether he's motivated to do that. So, we'll see what happens," Cornyn said.

Vitali noted that Trump appears to believe Cornyn's stance is motivated by personal animus. The senator dismissed that suggestion.

"You know, I voted with him 99.3 percent of the time," Cornyn said, pausing to laugh. "That has nothing to do with it. This is about making sure that, even if you're the president of the United States, you don't get favorable terms from the government in a settlement of a lawsuit that ordinary citizens would not get. Like protection from audits by the IRS into the foreseeable future. So I think this is about making sure that we maintain the integrity of our justice system."

Before the cameras went live, Cornyn told Vitali that "every time he thinks they're getting to a point where there's some kind of deal that could get him to yes, someone else throws a wrench in it." When pressed on what the current obstacle was, Cornyn pointed to the IRS component of the deal. Alternet previously reported on the disputed fund.

A federal judge has already declared the so-called "settlement" between Trump and the federal government invalid. She had requested that Blanche sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury confirming the fund would not go forward. Blanche refused.

The issue became a central line of questioning during Blanche's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Repeatedly, Blanche declined to commit to signing any sworn statement, arguing that he had already indicated the fund was dead and that such a declaration would be redundant.