Todd Blanche’s nomination advances. What happens next?

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White House Headlines - August 4, 2026

White House Headlines - August 4, 2026

It’s Tuesday. Have you heard that Myspace may be making a comeback? The Top 8 friends list was messy and I’m here for it to return.

Oh, and a SpaceX rocket is expected to dramatically crash into the moon overnight. I thought you should know.

Blanche’s nomination advances (!)

Blanche’s nomination advances (!)

Max Miller-Emily Moreno debacle gets messier

Max Miller-Emily Moreno debacle gets messier

Darline Graham breaks with brother, backs nixing filibuster

Darline Graham breaks with brother, backs nixing filibuster

Trump’s trip to California, Nevada

Trump’s trip to California, Nevada

Todd Blanche made it to the next challenge in the Senate obstacle course:

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did it. The Senate Judiciary Committee just advanced his nomination to become the next permanent attorney general after his confirmation stalled.

The vote fell on party lines in a 12-10 vote with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) eventually agreeing to back Blanche.

Remember, Cornyn and Tillis are both leaving Congress at the end of the year and withheld their support for Blanche over the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to pay Trump allies. Blanche agreed to permanently nix the fund on Sunday, unlocking the two votes.

But despite the momentum, Blanche’s confirmation still faces GOP obstacles.

What happens next?: Senate Republican Leader John Thune (S.D.) will need to tee up a floor vote for Blanche, though he said he doesn’t know yet whether he has enough votes to confirm Blanche. With Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) absence, Republicans effectively only have a  two-seat advantage. We do know Thune is hoping to confirm Blanche before the August recess.

Analysis from The New York Times’s Glenn Thrush: “One of the most striking aspects of Blanche’s expected confirmation is the willingness of Republicans like John Cornyn to put aside deep concerns about his lack of independence from Trump for the sake of partisan comity and their belief that he is simply the best nominee they will get from the........

© The Hill