Cornyn Torches Trump Over Claim Endorsement Snub Drove Him to Oppose Blanche: ‘A Convenient Excuse’

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) fired back at President Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president suggested Cornyn might oppose Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination because Trump declined to endorse his reelection bid, calling the claim “a convenient excuse.”

Blanche’s confirmation vote, scheduled for Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, was thrown into doubt after Cornyn canceled a second meeting with the acting attorney general Wednesday, as he and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) continued to push back over provisions in a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, resulting in the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

The Texas senator told reporters earlier on Wednesday he is “not prepared to vote yes” on Blanche, previously saying he will only support advancing the nomination if the Justice Department rewrites the settlement to permanently kill the slush fund.

Blanche told senators earlier this month that the fund had been abandoned, but later acknowledged under questioning that nothing in the settlement prevents a future Justice Department from bringing it back.

On Wednesday in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, “Maybe John Cornyn’s upset with me because I didn’t endorse him.” He went on to call Blanche “outstanding.”

Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Cornyn earlier this year in the state’s Republican Senate primary, with Paxton emerging victorious.

“I think that’s a convenient excuse for not cooperating with the judiciary committee’s appropriate role in the confirmation,” Cornyn told reporters Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday in the Oval, Trump remarked that he hasn’t heard “anything” about a “problem” in Blanche’s confirmation process, adding, “I’ve heard he’s going through quite nicely.”

Cornyn’s vote is crucial, because with all Democrats expected to oppose Blanche, opposition from either Cornyn or Tillis would be enough to block his nomination from advancing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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