Todd Blanche's nomination to become the nation's next attorney general cleared a key hurdle Tuesday after two Republican holdouts dropped their opposition following a last-minute agreement to eliminate a controversial Justice Department fund that had threatened to derail his confirmation.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche's nomination in a 12-10 party-line vote after Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina said they were satisfied with Blanche's decision to formally rescind the $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. The fund had drawn criticism from both senators, with Tillis previously describing it as a "payout for punks."

Their support was enough to move Blanche's nomination to the full Senate, but Democrats argued the agreement amounts to little more than a political promise.

While Blanche signed an order Sunday rescinding the fund, Democrats noted that President Donald Trump's underlying lawsuit remains active and that Trump himself did not sign the agreement. They also pointed to a separate memo that remains in place, saying it offers broad immunity to Trump, his adult children and their business from future government investigations involving their past conduct, including IRS matters.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., dismissed the documents as "decorative," arguing that neither "has any legal effect whatsoever."

The central Democratic argument throughout Tuesday's hearing was that nothing legally prevents a future Justice Department from restoring the fund.

"To state the obvious, Mr. Blanche's statement on the slush fund and the IRS immunity agreement are not signed by the parties to the settlement agreement and are therefore unenforceable," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee's top Democrat.

Durbin warned that the fund "can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general," adding that the agreement failed to resolve the same concerns Cornyn and Tillis had originally raised.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was equally skeptical.

"It's hard for me to say this as a plant-based guy, but where's the beef?" Booker said, arguing Republicans had received "no guarantees whatsoever" that the fund could not return.

Cornyn defended his decision, saying his insistence on obtaining a written commitment was more than a symbolic gesture.

"They've been consistent about their assertion on behalf of the United States of America that [the] weaponization fund is dead, and of course I expect them to live up to that in any future litigation," Cornyn said.

He also argued the Justice Department needs permanent leadership instead of continuing under an acting attorney general.

"We need a stabilizing force at the Department of Justice, and Mr. Blanche deserves the opportunity to provide that," Cornyn said.

Tillis likewise said Blanche addressed the issues that prompted his opposition.

"I've never liked this 1776 fund. It made no sense to me, and I thought it was an insult to the police officers and the people that defended us on Jan. 6. It's done. It's been rescinded, and I am satisfied," Tillis said.

Democrats remained unconvinced.

Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware questioned why the Justice Department has not made the same commitments in court filings tied to the ongoing litigation over the fund, arguing that nothing would prevent the administration from reversing course after Blanche is confirmed.

"It's bad enough that for weeks he resisted the simple requests of my Republican colleagues to just say in writing that this fund and order are revoked, finished, dead, but that he is still refusing to make it a binding guarantee in a sworn statement submitted before a judge," Coons said.

"Nothing would stop him from doing just that."

Blanche now heads to the full Senate, where his confirmation remains uncertain. Several Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have yet to announce how they will vote, leaving Blanche's path to confirmation still in question.