President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to pull Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination rather than accept changes demanded by two Republican senators who have blocked his confirmation over a controversial Justice Department settlement.

The dispute forced the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone a scheduled vote on Blanche after Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., refused to move the nomination forward without revisions to the agreement.

At issue is a settlement reached after Trump sued the federal government over the leak of his tax records from 2019 and 2020. The agreement created a proposed $1.8 billion fund for alleged victims of Justice Department "weaponization" and granted audit protections for Trump, members of his family and certain business associates.

Although the Justice Department later abandoned plans for the fund following bipartisan criticism, Cornyn has argued the settlement itself still needs to be rewritten to permanently eliminate the provision and narrow the audit protections.

As the standoff dragged on Thursday, Trump took aim at both senators on Truth Social.

"Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it!" Trump wrote. "He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time. However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this Great Nominee."

Trump went a step further, suggesting he could simply delay Blanche's confirmation until both senators leave office.

"I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office," Trump wrote.

Cornyn dismissed the suggestion that the dispute is rooted in politics.

"That has nothing to do with it," he told CNN. "This is about making sure that even if you're the president of the United States, you don't get favorable terms from the government in a settlement of a lawsuit that ordinary citizens would not get, like protection from audits by the IRS into the foreseeable future. I think this is about making sure that we maintain the integrity of our justice system and fairness for everybody involved."

The Texas senator has said he wants the settlement amended to ensure the proposed compensation fund cannot be revived through future legal action. He is also seeking language making clear the audit protections apply only to the parties involved in the lawsuit, extend only to IRS audits and do not cover future tax returns or unrelated legal matters.

Cornyn said he submitted a "redline strikeout" outlining those changes and believes an agreement is within reach.

"I thought we were pretty close to landing the plane last night, but this morning there's been some more complications," Cornyn told CNN. "I think if this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out. But apparently he's getting some pushback from higher ups at the White House. I don't know who, but this doesn't need to be this hard."

Trump's proposal would leave Blanche, who is already Senate-confirmed as deputy attorney general, serving in an acting role before renominating him in the next Congress. But that strategy could backfire if Democrats win control of the Senate after the midterm elections, making confirmation far less likely.

Cornyn also disputed Trump's claim that only he and Tillis oppose the settlement.

"POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn wrote on X.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said he believes many Republicans privately share those concerns.

"I have no doubt that many Republican senators agree with Cornyn and with Tillis, and they've been afraid to say the first word about it," Durbin said. "These two senators, like me, are lame ducks. They have more courage to deal with these issues than their colleagues."

For now, Blanche's nomination remains on hold as negotiations continue between the Justice Department and Senate Republicans over changes to the settlement.