Happy first Monday of August, when everyone wants to get the fuck out of DC as quickly as possible.
John Cornyn and Thom Tillis announced their support for Todd Blanche as Attorney Genearl today. To get their support, Blanche (as Acting AG) issued two documents:
confirming the termination of the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and
affirming that the immunity deal from Trump’s IRS settlement doesn’t cover any future IRS audits for the Trump family.
The committee hearing for his nomination is set for Tuesday, and then it will go to the floor, where I don’t expect any problems. There’s some pretty obvious loopholes in both documents, namely that a rescinded fund can be re-created, and a “clarified” immunity deal is still an immunity deal.
As always, the government needs to be funded and Congress is fighting over how to do so. The Senate will begin voting tonight on a continuing resolution (CR) that is expected to receive bipartisan support. A CR is an extension of previous funding levels and the reason they are pushing for it is to delay the brinkmanship-style negotiations till after midterms.
This version includes funding through December 11 and has added in some flexibility to FEMA’s disaster relief fund (which, btw, its director says Trump wants to shut down!) and Democrats got in language blocking Trump Admin efforts to assert partisan control over federal grantmaking.
The House is gone until August 31, so (assuming this passes) we won’t find out what happens next till September.
The House Ethics Committee recommended censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards, finding “substantial reason to believe” the North Carolina Republican violated House rules on sexual harassment. The report describes weird-ass handwritten letters (he told a staffer she had “written a complex chapter in my heart” gag), more than $1,000 in jewelry plus personalized firearms (!!), and flowers.
Meanwhile in Ohio, Senator Bernie Moreno (FINALLY) said his former son-in-law, Representative Max Miller, “should not serve in the House of Representatives.” Moreno’s daughter Emily, Miller’s ex-wife, has accused him of hitting her, making threats, throwing scalding water, and alleges abuse resulting in their two-year-old daughter breaking her collarbone. Miller, who has sued his ex-wife for defamation, is refusing to leave the race and posted a video online that is definitely NOT giving innocence. (throwup emoji here) He’s faced abuse allegations from another ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Grishom. Republicans have a deadline Wednesday to replace him on the ballot.
After calling off what was reportedly a major planned strike (who knows), Trump announced a new round of negotiations with Iran (what defines a round of negotiations, i have to wonder). He said, “There’s a deal on [the Strait of] Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearisation of Iran.”
Michigan holds its Senate primary tomorrow, and polls are showing that Abdul El-Sayed, the Bernie Sanders-backed progressive, is projected to win over Haley Stevens, the four-term congresswoman with endorsements from Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Gretchen Whitmer and more. The winner will take on Mike Rogers, the presumptive Republican nominee, in a seat Democrats probably can’t afford to lose to get majority. (we need to flip 4 out of Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and Alaska, as well as keep Michigan, Georgia & NH.)
One chamber, one scheduled week left, and a recess nobody has agreed to.
House
Still out, does not return until Monday, August 31.
Senate
Convened at 3 p.m. today, with one vote tonight on the continuing resolution. Additionally, they will likely vote on the Russia-Iran sanctions bill, Todd Blanche’s AG nomination and as many of the 74 pending nominations as they can.
Feeling hopeless? I hear you!!! Buy a copy of my book Democracy in Retrograde to figure out how to get your hope back [Amazon / Bookshop]
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