US news | The Guardian

Fauci to face Republican questions over Covid pandemic origins – US politics live

YesterdayCenter Left

Veteran medical adviser likely to face questions over disputed ‘lab leak’ theory in investigation seen by scientists as ‘vilification and harassment’ of 85-year-oldSign up for US Breaking News emailFormer president Joe Biden’s presidential pardon does not cover Anthony Fauci’s awaited hearing at Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee chairman has said.Republican James Comer told Fox News Digital:Americans are still reaping the consequences of Dr Fauci’s actions.Biden’s pardon doesn’t cover Dr Fauci’s testimony this week and if he continues to lie, he must be held accountable. Continue reading...

Read Full Story at Source

Compare Perspectives

Found 8 stories

Trump says he 'may' pull Blanche AG nomination temporarily

NPR Topics: News

1 hour ago

Trump says he 'may' pull Blanche AG nomination temporarily

The news comes as two key Republicans are withholding their support over concerns about the Justice Department's deal with President Trump.

Center

Read →

Trump says he's open to delaying Blanche nomination over GOP defectors

Axios

1 hour ago

Trump says he's open to delaying Blanche nomination over GOP defectors

President Trump said Thursday that he would have "no objection" to temporarily withdrawing acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination until his Republican opponents are out of office next January.The big picture: Trump's threat, directed at GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas), puts Blanche's critics on notice to what the president deemed "the right thing" after their concerns stalled his nomination.Driving the news: "Todd Blanche is a STAR," Trump wrote of his former personal attorney turned Justice Department loyalist.He added that Blanche would "remain, in any event, as Acting."Cornyn had demanded a written guarantee that the administration's controversial "anti-weaponization fund" was dead.What they're saying: "POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn, who has broken from the president since losing his re-election primary bid to a Trump-backed challenger, quickly responded in a post on X.Reality check: Even if the president withdrew his name, Blanche could retain the vast power of the nation's chief law enforcement officer in an acting capacity, as he has since this spring.This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Center Left

Read →

GOP senator snaps at 'mistaken' Trump as Todd Blanche turmoil heats up

Raw Story

1 hour ago

GOP senator snaps at 'mistaken' Trump as Todd Blanche turmoil heats up

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) fired back at President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying opposition to his IRS tax settlement runs far deeper than just two senators.At 11:15 AM, Trump wrote on Truth Social that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was "a STAR" with the potential to be "one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time."He blamed Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — "both of whom I refused to Endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action" — for blocking the confirmation.Just seven minutes after Trump backed down, Cornyn rubbed salt in the wound by responding to Trump on X."POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis," Cornyn wrote on X.The standoff forced the Senate Judiciary Committee to scrap a scheduled Thursday vote on Blanche's nomination, a setback for one of Trump's top Cabinet picks, MS NOW reported."I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office," Trump wrote on Truth Social, threatening to pull the nomination entirely and resubmit it once both senators leave office.Earlier Wednesday, before Trump's post, Cornyn and Tillis had told Politico that someone inside the White House — not Trump himself — was blocking a deal."I don't know who it is — I'm just trying to get them out of the way so we can get the president his AG," Tillis said."If this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out, but, apparently, he's getting some pushback from higher ups at the White House," Cornyn said, adding that he did not know who was responsible. "I don't know who, but it doesn't need to be this hard.""Why don't you call over the DOJ and tell them they have one hour and 50 minutes to get me what I asked for," Cornyn told reporters Wednesday afternoon, as negotiations with the Department of Justice dragged on, MS NOW reported."What I've advised the chair, and I would assume Senator Cornyn said something similar, is that we're not prepared to vote yes yet," Tillis said Wednesday night, confirming neither senator had moved.

Far Left

Read →

Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge

Latest Political News on Fox News

1 hour ago

Trump AG pick Blanche stalled as key Republicans refuse to budge

Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written proposals to modify the Trump IRS settlement, derailing Todd Blanche's confirmation vote.

Right

Read →

Someone 'above Blanche’s pay grade' is blocking deal with Senate: Republican

Alternet.org

1 hour ago

Someone 'above Blanche’s pay grade' is blocking deal with Senate: Republican

Two U.S. Senators have said that someone at the White House is stopping President Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general from signing off on preventing the so-called "anti-weaponization fund" for MAGA allies who felt they were unfairly targeted by the U.S. government.In an earlier interview, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, "But, I don't know, somebody somewhere, I don't know whether it's the White House, or somebody works there or somebody works for the president, is basically telling them don't agree to those terms. And so we're kind of back to square one."The terms Cornyn wants include a signed guarantee that the fund will not be started. A federal judge requested the same thing in court, and Blanche refused twice to put such a pledge in writing.Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is now part of the small caucus of outgoing senators unwilling to sign off on Blanche without that guarantee. MS NOW's Ali Vitali spoke to Tillis on Thursday morning. In the interview, the outgoing Republican senator said that Blanche has been working with lawmakers in good faith. The problems are coming from someone else in the White House. "I think Blanche is trying to fulfill the commitment he made in the hearing. And so, we're continuing to talk, and we need to get to the person who's in the way. Todd Blanche is negotiating in good faith, but it's clear that the approval to get this done is above his pay grade, and we just need to get to that pay grade," said Tillis.He began to walk away and shouted over his shoulder, "I don't believe it's the president."Within a few hours, Trump went to Truth Social, writing, "Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it! He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time. However, John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, both of whom I refused to endorse, and whose political careers have been ended by my action, are refusing to vote for this great nominee, who will remain, in any event, as acting [attorney general]. Remember, both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland, and others, too numerous to mention. I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office."The one thing that could stop that from happening is if Democrats win the Senate in the November elections. It's a long shot that requires flipping four seats, NPR reported this week.Cornyn responded to Trump on X, saying, "POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to Senator Tillis and me."

Left

Read →

Trump says he could pull Blanche's attorney general nomination until GOP holdouts leave

NBC News Politics

1 hour ago

Trump says he could pull Blanche's attorney general nomination until GOP holdouts leave

In a post on social media, President Trump threatened to pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination to serve permanently in the role until two Senate Republicans who are withholding their support leave office next year. NBC News' Julie Tsirkin reports from Capitol Hill on why the senators oppose advancing Blanche's nomination to the full Senate.

Center Left

Read →

Trump folds on Blanche as GOP senators hand him devastating defeat

Raw Story

1 hour ago

Trump folds on Blanche as GOP senators hand him devastating defeat

President Donald Trump conceded Thursday he may pull his own attorney general nominee rather than give two outgoing Republican senators what they are demanding.Trump made the admission on Truth Social after the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination Wednesday night. The vote was canceled when it became clear two Republicans would block it.Those two senators — Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — are leaving Congress at the end of the year. "Todd Blanche is a STAR, and everyone knows it!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time.""I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office," Trump wrote.Trump also attacked both senators directly, calling them men "whose political careers have been ended by my action" — a reference to his decision not to endorse them. He added that "both Cornyn and Tillis voted for Merrick Garland," invoking former Attorney General Merrick Garland, a name Republicans cite as a symbol of Democratic overreach.On Capitol Hill Thursday morning, Cornyn told reporters the situation had taken a turn for the worse. Asked whether Blanche could be confirmed before the August recess, he said the odds were against it."It's looking doubtful," Cornyn told reporters, according to NBC News congressional reporter Laura Weiss.Cornyn said talks with Blanche had been "very constructive" and that he believed a deal was close Tuesday night. But by Thursday morning, something had shifted."Other people intervening," he said. He told NBC News congressional correspondent Julie Tsirkin he did not know whether the president himself was standing in the way.At the heart of the standoff is a settlement Trump's Department of Justice reached with the Internal Revenue Service. The deal granted Trump and his family immunity from tax audits and created a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who said they had been targeted by the government for political reasons.The fund was later abandoned, but Cornyn wants that abandonment in writing — and wants the audit immunity narrowed so it does not cover future tax filings, according to MS NOW."All I want them to do is to confirm what he said in his sworn testimony before the Judiciary Committee, with regard not only to the weaponization fund, but also who is protected from future audits and what agencies of the federal government are bound by the release," Cornyn told reporters, according to CBS News.The Department of Justice, Cornyn said, had not delivered. "They've simply refused to cooperate," he said, according to The Hill.As of Thursday morning, Cornyn said he was waiting on a DOJ response to his latest offer and had no meetings or calls scheduled with the White House or the Department of Justice.

Far Left

Read →

'Tough position': Todd Blanche gets stark warning as he ponders Trump betrayal

Raw Story

1 hour ago

'Tough position': Todd Blanche gets stark warning as he ponders Trump betrayal

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will have to betray President Donald Trump if he has any hope of getting a positive Senate confirmation vote before the chamber adjourns, a new political analysis contends. Senate Republicans' mounting resistance to Trump's demands has only shortened the odds of Blanche's confirmation making it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, MS NOW host Ali Vitali argued Thursday. Blanche must also face non-committee Republicans who have expressed doubts about the president’s former personal attorney. This mounting pushback has caught Blanche in a trap, Vitali said. "In order to get this job, he was going to have to make agreements that put him crosswise with the person who wanted him to have this job in the first place," she said. "Donald Trump. Now we are watching the paradox."“It's going to be interesting to see the way that Blanche actually gets himself out of this, " Vitali said. "I do believe that to get himself out of committee is to be the thing that puts himself in a tough position with Trump, and we know how long people last when that's the case.” - YouTube youtu.be

Far Left

Read →

Fauci to face Republican questions over Covid pandemic origins – US politics live

Summary

Related Coverage

Daily Analysis

More Headlines From July 29, 2026

Fauci to face Republican questions over Covid pandemic origins – US politics live

Compare Perspectives