AI Summary
5 min readTodd Blanche, President Trump's former attorney and current Acting Attorney General, has hit a wall in his bid to be confirmed to the top job permanently—and Trump is threatening to simply pull the nomination and let Blanche keep serving without Senate approval. That's the dominant story on this Friday's Start Here, alongside a new GDP report showing the U.S. economy is slowing but still being propped up by consumer spending and the AI boom, plus a brewing crisis inside FIFA that could see Europe's top soccer teams boycott future World Cups.
Blanche's Confirmation Stalls Over IRS Settlement Fallout
Blanche needs every single Republican vote to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and get a floor vote. Two GOP senators—John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Tillis of North Carolina—are blocking him. Their objections stem from a settlement President Trump reached with the IRS. That settlement created a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" designed to reimburse people who felt wronged by the Biden-era Justice Department. It also gave Trump assurances that current and past audits of him and his family members would be dropped.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:37) **Todd Blanche Nomination Stalled** - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces an uncertain path to Senate confirmation due to objections from two key Republicans.
- 2 (05:53) **Trump Threatens to Withdraw Nomination** - President Trump, frustrated by the delay, publicly threatened to pull Blanche's nomination and keep him as acting AG indefinitely.
- 3 (10:26) **New GDP Data Shows Slowing Growth** - The latest economic report reveals the US economy is growing at a slower pace, with consumers feeling the pinch from higher prices.
- 4 (13:25) **AI Investment Propping Up the Economy** - Massive spending on artificial intelligence is significantly boosting business investment and stock market valuations.
- 5 (14:53) **Federal Reserve Divided on Next Move** - New Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh is committed to fighting inflation, but the Fed chose to hold interest rates steady amid internal debate.
- 6 (18:14) **FIFA's Private Equity Plan Sparks Boycott Threat** - FIFA President Gianni Infantino's plan to sell a stake in a new commercial entity to private equity faces massive opposition from European soccer.
- 7 Standout Quotes
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Trump considers temporarily withdrawing Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination. A government report shows the economy has slowed more than expected. And a FIFA investment plan sparks the threat of a World Cup boycott. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
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