Sen. John Curtis discusses Utah voter, land issues with Trump AG nominee

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Curtis met behind closed doors with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday as the Utah Republican weighs whether to officially confirm the nominee to the top administration position.

The pair discussed Utah-specific issues during the meeting inside Curtis' Washington office rather than the nomination itself, the senator told the Deseret News. Blanche still awaits approval from the Judiciary Committee before the full Senate can vote on his nomination, a process that has been held up by some GOP opposition.

During the meeting, Curtis pressed Blanche on an ongoing lawsuit between the Justice Department and the state of Utah as the federal agency demands access to the Beehive State's voter rolls. The DOJ earlier this month threatened Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson with criminal prosecution if she does not hand over private voter data, a demand she says is illegal under state law.

"I wanted to discuss with him this issue of the Trump administration wanting voter records," Curtis told the Deseret News after the meeting. "I pointed out to him (that) if this was a Biden administration asking for voting records, Utahns would be very grumpy."

While Curtis did not share specific details of the private conversation, the Utah senator noted that was a main concern of his.

The pair also discussed public land issues during the meeting, particularly surrounding Revised Statute 2477, a now-repealed federal law that originally intended to encourage settlement in the West. Despite now being defunct, debate remains over rights-of-way for roads across public lands.

Curtis spoke with Blanche about resolving those disputes, the senator said.

Blanche still looking for Republican support

The meeting comes as Blanche has sought to secure enough Republican support to be confirmed to the attorney general position. His nomination has been stalled in the Judiciary Committee by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina over disagreements to a recent DOJ settlement involving President Donald Trump.

That settlement resulted in the creation of a $1.78 billion anti-weaponization fund, which would allow individuals to be compensated if they feel they have been unfairly targeted by the federal government, as well as an agreement that the president could not be audited by the Internal Revenue Service. Both senators are demanding Blanche modify that settlement before they vote to advance his nomination.

Blanche was originally scheduled to meet with Cornyn on Wednesday morning, but that meeting was canceled.

"Hopefully they now recognize the seriousness of this," Cornyn told reporters on Wednesday. "Maybe they think I'm just going to give up or, you know, go along, but they're mistaken."

Curtis has also expressed concerns with the anti-weaponization fund, which Blanche has previously said would not be used. The Utah senator backed Cornyn's and Tillis' efforts to ensure the fund is defunct and not just "nearly dead," Curtis said.

"I think what they're doing is smart," Curtis said. "I think basically it boils down to: Attorney General Blanche, he says it's dead. They want absolute confirmation. … And I think that's probably a good ask on their part."

Curtis said he'll be keeping an eye on what Cornyn and Tillis do when Blanche's nomination is voted on by the Judiciary Committee. The timing of that vote was originally scheduled for Thursday but has since been thrown into flux.

"If he clears, that's a big deal that I don't take lightly," Curtis said. "I think it's fair to say I'm not absolutely there, but that I would be heavily influenced by the outcome of Judiciary."

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