With the House now gone for the August recess, the Senate is now juggling multiple priorities as it grinds through the last couple days of its session.
Sen. Mike Lee has thrown down the gauntlet, pledging not to let the Senate recess until there is a viable path forward for passing the SAVE America Act. Yesterday, Sen. Lee posted to X that “Senate GOP discussions are becoming less about whether to stay and strengthen election security (à la SAVE America Act) and more about how exactly to go about it.”
Meanwhile, the Senate continues to process nominations—including that of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent post. Mr. Blanche was reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but his confirmation by the full Senate has hit some roadblocks.
This saga has been drawn out by a handful of senators who will be leaving the Senate at the end of the term. Part of their contention is that Acting Attorney General Blanche hasn’t done enough to reassure them that the Trump administration’s Anti-Weaponization Fund, which they view as a weaponization of the Justice Department, will not be used again.
Notably, the senators who are objecting to Blanche have done nothing to address President Obama’s repeated weaponization of the federal government’s Judgment Fund.
Majority Leader Thune on Thursday said that he was “hopeful and optimistic that we will get [Blanche] confirmed.”
While Mr. Blanche’s nomination was being advanced out of the Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC), chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, voted 8-5 to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt. This was in response to Dr. Fauci’s invoking of the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during his recent appearance before the committee, and his refusal to answer even the most basic questions.
The vote now clears the path for the committee to refer the case to the Justice Department for potential prosecution.
ICYMI…
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