President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to revive a controversial fund designed to compensate his political allies, just one day after declaring the initiative "dead." The reversal has injected fresh uncertainty into a Senate confirmation vote for his attorney general nominee scheduled for next week and has reignited tensions with two Republican senators whose support remains in question.

The standoff carries broader institutional stakes: the attorney general oversees the entire federal law enforcement apparatus, and Senate confirmation is the primary check on that appointment. With Republicans holding a narrow Senate majority, the leverage of even one or two dissenting members can make or break a nomination.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump asserted that he would retain acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in his current capacity and push to restore the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" if Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina continue to withhold their support for Blanche's nomination. Blanche, a former federal prosecutor, served as a central figure on Trump's legal defense team during the former president's battles across four criminal indictments. His transition from personal defense counsel to the nominee for the nation's top law enforcement post has drawn scrutiny from senators in both parties.

The administration requires both senators' votes for confirmation. However, Cornyn and Tillis have objected to Blanche's selection over concerns tied to a lawsuit settlement that established a $1.8 billion fund to compensate individuals who claim they were mistreated by the criminal justice system. The same settlement also granted Trump and his family members immunity from tax audits — a provision that legal experts note is highly unusual for a settlement involving a sitting president's business interests.

On Friday, Trump appeared to signal progress when he pronounced the fund "dead." Negotiations continued through the night, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) rescheduled a previously postponed committee vote on Blanche. A committee spokesperson said Grassley aims to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess, noting that placing the Tuesday vote on the calendar "gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President's nominee."

By Saturday morning, however, those plans appeared precarious. Trump issued a new statement that seemed to place the fund back on the negotiating table while criticizing both senators, who are departing Capitol Hill when their terms expire in January.

"If Senators Cornyn and Tillis, both upset because I wouldn't Endorse them (they lost, and quit, respectively!), aren't going to approve Todd Blanche, one of the most respected professionals, according to everybody, in the Country, to be the United States Attorney General, then I will keep Todd as Acting A.G., and push hard" to restore the fund, Trump wrote.

The president reiterated his prior assertions that the fund "takes care of those who have been badly treated" during the administrations of Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Tillis, who is retiring from the Senate, responded to the president's reversal in a post on X, stating that despite Trump's Friday comments, he "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."

"It's unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal," Tillis added. "Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday."

At a hearing approximately two months ago, Blanche had testified that the anti-weaponization fund would not move forward, following a revolt by Republican senators who held up an immigration funding bill in protest. Cornyn, who lost his reelection bid this year after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, and Tillis have both stated they want assurances that the White House will not reverse course — particularly as Trump continues to argue that such a fund is necessary.

According to a document reviewed by The Associated Press, the Department of Justice has provided the senators with language stating that Blanche's May 18 order establishing the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is "rescinded and shall have no force or effect."

Cornyn and Tillis have also sought clarification on a separate component of the settlement that would grant Trump and his family members immunity from tax audits. Cornyn said this week that his understanding was that the audits could extend to more than 100 different Trump organization subsidiaries on a prospective basis.

"Todd Blanche said it was limited to the parties to the litigation — and it was retrospective, not prospective," Cornyn said. "And all we're doing is asking them to put that in writing."