Vote to take place on Blanche nomination after GOP senators drop opposition – US politics live

Summary

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Todd Blanche appears on track to become the next US attorney general after two Republican senators drop their opposition to his nomination. The Senate Judiciary Committee is due to meet for a vote this morning on Blanche’s nomination following last week’s delay. Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis had sought concessions from the Department of Justice and White House relating to President Donald Trump’s settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Cornyn and Tillis had refused to back Blanche’s bid for the permanent post without official confirmation killing the fund meant to compensate people who believe they were unfairly prosecuted by the Justice Department. Blanche’s written order, issued late Sunday, came after the days of negotiations between the Justice Department and the Republican senators who are leaving Capitol Hill when their terms end in January. “We want to express our gratitude to Mr Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” Cornyn, of Texas, and Tillis, of North Carolina, said in a statement. Blanche has repeatedly said that the Justice Department was scrapping plans for the fund, which sparked bipartisan outcry over the possibility that violent rioters who attacked police at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, could be considered for payments. Trump said he has always known Miller as “a good person” and called the situation “a very sad thing.” In an 89-4 vote, the Senate voted to take up a measure that would temporarily keep the government funded and help avoid a shutdown in the fall. The Senate is slated to debate the funding bill and move it closer to a final vote. A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration over new tariffs pegged at 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes struck down by the supreme court in February.