U.S. Federal senators whose bids for midterm elections were blocked by interference from President Donald Trump have taken matters into their own hands by putting the brakes on the confirmation of key cabinet nominees.
They blocked the confirmation of the nominee for attorney general, a core loyalist who previously served as President Trump's personal attorney. As this is intertwined with tax audit exemptions, critics point out that President Trump's hint at temporarily withdrawing the nomination reveals a crack in his grip on the ruling party.
On the 30th (local time), President Trump targeted Republican U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis on the social media platform Truth Social, criticizing, "Two people whose political careers are over are refusing confirmation," while simultaneously stating that he would not oppose temporarily withdrawing the nomination of Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche.
Given that the opposition from Senators Cornyn and Tillis has prevented Blanche's confirmation motion from passing the Senate Judiciary Committee, this move signals an intent to temporarily retreat and pursue the confirmation process once the Senate is reconstituted early next year.
Four-term Senator Cornyn and two-term Senator Tillis will finish their terms early next year. President Trump endorsed other candidates, effectively blocking their bids for the midterm elections in November.
Republican lawmakers who have thus fallen out with President Trump and are leaving Congress are referred to as the "wounded bear caucus." Because they have nothing left to lose, giving them wider room to maneuver, they are also dubbed the "YOLO (You Only Live Once) caucus."
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. With all Democratic senators opposed, unless Senators Cornyn and Tillis change their minds, bringing Blanche's confirmation motion to the full Senate floor is impossible.
They are not simply offering blind opposition. They are taking issue with the settlement reached between President Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which Blanche spearheaded while serving as acting attorney general.
The core of the settlement involves closing lawsuits filed by President Trump over IRS information leaks to establish a judicial victims compensation fund of approximately 1.8 billion dollars (about 2.55 trillion won) while exempting President Trump from related tax audits.
The push to establish the judicial victims compensation fund fell through amid concerns that it would benefit President Trump's supporters, and Senator Cornyn is demanding written guarantees.
What they find even more problematic is the tax audit exemption clause. Their logic is that the vaguely worded targets and scope of the exemption must be clearly restricted to block any attempts by President Trump at expansive interpretations.
President Trump also appears to have judged that temporarily withdrawing Blanche's nomination is preferable to restricting or scrapping the tax audit exemption agreement and paying massive taxes.
Although the withdrawal of the nomination is described as temporary, evaluations suggest it symbolically illustrates how a hole has been punched in President Trump's grip on the Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections.
The New York Times (NYT) reported, "This calls into question President Trump's role as a self-proclaimed Republican kingmaker."
Nominee Blanche is an innermost confidant who served as President Trump's personal attorney. He joined the Trump administration as deputy attorney general and became acting attorney general after the cabinet member was replaced.
Because the term of an acting cabinet secretary can be extended, he can continue to lead the Department of Justice even if the confirmation stalemate persists.
The retaliation by the "wounded bears" was a foreseen reality. There had been observations that federal lawmakers forced to hand over midterm primary tickets to candidates handpicked by President Trump would try to block his various policy initiatives until they finish their terms early next year.
A recent example is when Republican Senator Bill Cassidy voted in May in favor of a resolution limiting President Trump's war powers, enabling it to reach the floor. Senator Cassidy was also squeezed out of the Republican primary by a candidate endorsed by President Trump.
(Reported by JIN Sang-myeong | Video by Ryu Ji-soo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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