Republican senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced on Friday that she will vote against confirming Todd Blanche as US attorney general, becoming the second Senate Republican to publicly break with the nomination. Her decision follows Susan Collins' announcement on Tuesday that she too would oppose Blanche, leaving president Donald Trump's former personal lawyer with almost no room for further defections. Murkowski said Blanche struck her as personally capable but that she could not support his confirmation regardless.
I have had numerous constructive meetings with Mr. Blanche and he comes across as decent and capable.
Ultimately, however, I will oppose his nomination.
According to CNBC, Murkowski's announcement adds to a growing bloc of Republican skeptics and further tightens the arithmetic Blanche needs to be confirmed. Separately, Democratic senator Peter Welch voted against advancing the nomination during Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings, according to a statement from his office.
Why does Murkowski's vote matter so much?
With Mitch McConnell absent from the Senate indefinitely, Blanche can afford to lose only one more Republican vote and still be confirmed — a threshold Murkowski's opposition now pushes right up against. As Axios has reported, Collins herself framed her vote in exactly these terms, noting that McConnell's absence leaves virtually no margin for additional Republican defections if Blanche is to reach confirmation.
Blanche, who is currently serving as acting attorney general, had managed to win over two other wavering Republicans — John Cornyn and Thom Tillis — by giving them written assurances that a controversial $1.8bn "anti-weaponization" fund tied to Trump would not be revived, and that a related tax-immunity arrangement applied strictly to past tax returns. Both the fund and the tax provision stemmed from the settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Unresolved questions remain over whether the fund could be reconstituted down the line, and over why the president would be granted a tax arrangement from his own administration that could personally spare him millions of dollars.
Our earlier coverage traced how this fight escalated: Blanche's bid stalled in late July when Cornyn demanded written confirmation that the disputed fund was dead, prompting Trump to suggest he might temporarily pull the nomination altogether. The dispute also became entangled with other controversies, including questions over Trump's IRS settlement, an Obama endorsement in Iowa, the Senate's posture on Ghislaine Maxwell, and new polling on Iran, as detailed in our broader report on the stalled nomination. Cornyn and Tillis ultimately reversed course after receiving the written assurances they sought, and a Senate vote was expected to follow, according to our report on the Republicans dropping their opposition.
What has opposition to Blanche looked like outside the Senate?
Criticism of Blanche's nomination has extended well beyond Capitol Hill. The New York City Bar Association wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 13 July urging members to reject his nomination, arguing that his record demonstrated what the association called "a lack of commitment" to the Justice Department's integrity and independence. Separately, more than 1,200 former Justice Department employees spanning 14 administrations signed a letter opposing his confirmation, according to the Justice Connection.
What happens next?
The Senate Judiciary Committee originally scheduled Blanche's confirmation hearing for 15 and 16 July, according to the National Women's Law Center, which also urged senators to vote against him. More recently, Cornyn and Tillis signaled on 3 August that they were prepared to back Blanche after receiving fresh written statements from him and the Justice Department, according to USA Today, meaning the central question now is whether that support holds firm through a full Senate floor vote given Murkowski's and Collins' opposition.
New tariff on Chinese-linked polysilicon imports
Trump has ordered a new 15% tariff on imported polysilicon, a highly purified form of silicon that is essential to semiconductor manufacturing and is produced mainly in China. The tariff takes effect on 4 December and is designed to bolster the domestic chip and solar panel supply chains as the United States seeks to compete with Beijing on artificial intelligence and energy production.
The executive order, signed on Thursday evening, states that the measures will help ensure the commercial viability of United States production of polysilicon and its derivatives, which the administration considers necessary for economic and national security purposes. Polysilicon underpins semiconductor production used in AI processing, data centers and solar power generation. Domestic manufacturers have long alleged that Chinese competitors dump cheaper panels onto the market, aided by heavy government subsidies and by shifting manufacturing operations to other countries in order to sidestep US tariffs.
Tennessee primary sets up high-stakes House race
Voters in Tennessee selected two Memphis-area lawmakers on primary day to contest a newly redrawn US House seat that figures prominently in Trump's strategy to preserve a narrow Republican majority in the coming midterm elections. Republicans nominated state senator Brent Taylor, who had Trump's backing, while Democrats chose state representative Justin Pearson, who gained national attention three years ago after being expelled from the Tennessee House for joining a demonstration in favor of gun control measures.
The district, previously a compact, majority-Black seat centered on Memphis, was broken apart by Republican state officials this year following a US Supreme Court ruling that weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters. Republicans hope the new map, part of a wider nationwide redistricting push backed by Trump, could help them capture all nine of Tennessee's congressional seats. The reconfigured 9th district now stretches roughly 200 miles (320km) eastward from Memphis through rural territory before angling north toward Nashville; an Associated Press estimate found 71% of its voters are new to the district, and it now leans Republican after previously favoring Democrats. Some Memphis residents have voiced concern that the changes have diluted their representation.
The same redistricting effort also reshaped Tennessee's 5th congressional district, currently held by Republican representative Andy Ogles, who lost his primary to former state agriculture commissioner Charlie Hatcher. Ogles, who had Trump's endorsement, had faced a tough primary challenge from a candidate backed by Tennessee's governor, Bill Lee.
Do progressive economic ideas have broader appeal?
Progressive Democratic proposals such as "Medicare for all" and new taxes on billionaires have fueled a string of insurgent primary victories this year, unsettling the party establishment and raising concerns about the party's prospects in November's midterms. A /Ipsos poll conducted earlier this week, however, found that several of these ideas — though not the full progressive platform — draw support from independent voters, a bloc that could prove decisive in determining whether Trump's Republican Party retains its congressional majorities for the next two years.
The six-day nationwide survey found that 64% of independent registered voters back higher taxes on corporations and billionaires, compared with just 15% opposed. It also found that 60% of independents support government-provided health coverage for all Americans, an idea progressives — including Michigan Senate nominee El-Sayed — have promoted under the "Medicare for all" banner as an expansion of government-run health insurance to cover the entire population.
Trump meets mining executives amid critical minerals push
Trump is set to convene executives from several of the world's largest mining companies at the State Department on Friday as his administration steps up efforts to secure reliable domestic and allied supplies of critical minerals. According to , the administration needs these minerals both to replenish weapons stockpiles depleted during the conflict with Iran and to reduce US reliance on Chinese supply chains.
US forces expended large quantities of precision-guided missiles and air-defense interceptors during the five-month conflict with Iran. Defense officials and lawmakers have cautioned that rebuilding some of these inventories could take years given existing production constraints, even though the administration has disputed characterizations suggesting significant shortages exist.
New executive orders target birthright citizenship again
Trump has made a second attempt to curtail the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, just weeks after the US Supreme Court struck down his earlier, broader effort to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign residents. On Thursday, he signed two new executive orders aimed at widening the categories of children who would be ineligible for automatic citizenship and at banning so-called "birth tourism." The orders are expected to draw legal challenges.
Trump has pursued the elimination of birthright citizenship for more than a decade, dating back to a 2015 campaign promise, and has made the push central to his second-term immigration agenda, though he has yet to succeed. On Thursday, he criticized the Supreme Court's earlier ruling against his first order.
It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments because it's very unfair.
The first of the two new orders seeks to broaden the definitions of which children would be excluded from receiving birthright citizenship. The right has been constitutionally guaranteed since the 14th Amendment's ratification in 1868.
Will Max Miller step aside amid abuse allegations?
Trump declined to say whether Ohio representative Max Miller should withdraw from his reelection campaign following domestic abuse allegations made by his ex-wife. Asked about the matter by reporters in the Oval Office during a Thursday signing event, Trump demurred.
Well, I'm not going to get involved in that.
Trump repeated his earlier characterization of the matter as a "very sad situation." Miller served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first term. His ex-wife is the daughter of Republican senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio, who has called for Miller to leave the House.
If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them. He should not serve in the House of Representatives.
Moreno, a Trump ally, made those remarks on Sunday after Miller posted a livestream video defending himself against the allegations and claiming his former wife had "significant mental-health challenges." Ohio's other Republican senator, Jon Husted, also called on Thursday for Miller to resign and abandon his reelection bid. Under Ohio law, Miller would need to withdraw by Saturday in order to leave enough time for a replacement candidate process ahead of a 4pm deadline on Monday.
Key Facts
- Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are the two Republican senators publicly opposing Todd Blanche's attorney general nomination, leaving little room for further GOP defections given Mitch McConnell's absence.
- Blanche secured support from Cornyn and Tillis by pledging in writing that a $1.8bn "anti-weaponization" fund tied to Trump's IRS settlement would not be revived.
- More than 1,200 former Justice Department employees and the New York City Bar Association have formally opposed Blanche's confirmation.
- Trump signed a 15% tariff on imported polysilicon, effective 4 December, to bolster domestic chip and solar supply chains.
- Republican Brent Taylor and Democrat Justin Pearson will contest Tennessee's redrawn 9th congressional district in the midterms.
