Will R Senator Cornyn vote 'no' in Judiciary Cmte ending Blanche's bid to become @realAttyGeneral?

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general to the full Senate. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voted with the Republican majority in favor of Blanche rather than against him, so the standoff did not end his nomination in committee. Cornyn's support followed days of him withholding a "yes" vote, alongside Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., over the Justice Department's roughly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund," created to compensate people who said they were targeted by "lawfare." Blanche broke the impasse by signing an order rescinding the fund in writing, satisfying the two senators' demand and unlocking their votes to advance the nomination. The confirmation fight had already been shadowed by scrutiny of the Justice Department's handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, an issue Blanche addressed at a July 15 confirmation hearing and which prompted Tillis to require a meeting between Blanche and Epstein accusers before backing him. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who does not sit on the committee, separately said she would oppose Blanche when the nomination reaches the Senate floor. Ahead of the committee vote, 61% of predictors on the platform had expected Cornyn to vote "no" and end Blanche's bid; the committee instead advanced the nomination on a straight party-line tally.