Blanche and the DOJ, Michigan Primaries, Spokane Wildfires

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote today on Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General, after two Republican holdouts dropped their objections. Blanche, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, provided written guarantees that addressed demands from Senators John Cornyn and Tom Tillis—but legal experts say neither document is actually binding. Meanwhile, Democrats in Michigan are choosing between two Senate candidates in a primary that has become a proxy for the party’s internal tensions over establishment versus insurgent politics. And in Spokane, Washington, a man has been arrested on arson charges in connection with one of three wildfires that have displaced tens of thousands of people since last weekend.

Blanche’s Written Assurances—and Their Limits

Blanche’s nomination appeared uncertain for much of last week. Cornyn and Tillis, both Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wanted written confirmation that a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was dead, and written limits on a tax immunity deal for Trump, his family, and his businesses. Late Sunday, Blanche released two documents. One formally rescinds the order that created the fund, effectively killing it. The other clarifies that the tax immunity deal applies only retroactively and only to Trump, two of his sons, and the Trump Organization.