SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Early today, the Senate confirmed President Trump's nominee for U.S. attorney general. Todd Blanche squeaked out of victory. In a Republican-led Senate that raised questions about placing Trump's former personal lawyer on - in charge of the Justice Department, Todd Blanche was approved 50-49 - the narrowest margin. NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales joins us. Claudia, thanks for being with us.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning, Scott.
SIMON: This confirmation consumed the Senate for weeks. Why?
GRISALES: Right. A week ago, it wasn't even clear if he had the votes to win confirmation, and much of the concerns came down to a conflict of interest. That's Blanche's role installing Trump's demands. And that includes a controversial settlement this year under his administration. That was between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service that created a $1.8 billion fund that was on track to benefit Trump's allies. And Blanche rescinded the plan in writing.
Now, Blanche issued a written order rescinding that plan. But still, that and more was part of the reasoning that Blanche lost key support from two Republicans. That's Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. They expressed concerns about the future of the agency with little restraint to Trump's demands. And with the Senate operating under tight margins, all eyes were then on a final swing vote. That's Bill Cassidy from Louisiana. He ultimately said he would vote for Blanche, helping him get over the finish line by that one vote.
SIMON: And what won Senator Cassidy's support?
GRISALES: Well, he admitted he too had concerns over Blanche's role in things like that anti-weaponization fund. Here's Cassidy on the Senate floor.
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BILL CASSIDY: Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this. But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump.
GRISALES: So he argued Blanche would actually have more leverage to push against the president if he was confirmed to the role.
SIMON: Senate's now in an extended August recess, but had a long to-do list to get there. Before wrapping up their session early this morning, what else did they do?
GRISALES: Well, one big thing, they approved a Russia sanctions bill with broad bipartisan support in a vote of 87-11. That's not a common occurrence in Congress these days. It was at least a year in the making. It was named for the late GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, who was really the architect on this legislation all the way up until his death last month.
The bill is designed to really squeeze the Russian economy. One way it does that is by letting President Trump put tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and natural gas. The bill's supporters saw it as a tribute to Graham, and his death added momentum to get it done. His sister, Darline Graham, spoke right before the vote. She was appointed to serve the remainder of his term.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DARLINE GRAHAM: My late brother, Lindsey, was a foreign policy and national security expert. He was also a peacemaker who was determined to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
SIMON: And, Claudia, when should the bill reach President Trump's desk?
GRISALES: Well, first, it needs to go to the House, which is currently on their August recess, but Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled support for the bill. However, we should note that some Democrats have raised concerns about giving Trump more power to put tariffs on other countries.
SIMON: So with both chambers now on August recess, what's next?
GRISALES: Well, a lot of campaigning. This is one of the last chances for both parties to make their cases before the midterms. So that's why this final Senate session was so critical. For example, the Senate this morning also approved a stopgap funding measure to keep the government's lights on past the November elections. But Republicans in particular have a tough case to make to voters in the midst of the Iran war and economic fallout from that. President Trump had insisted that they could also approve the so-called SAVE America Act. This is a voting overhaul bill. But this morning, a vote on this measure limited to voter ID failed. So this is a fight that might continue even after today.
SIMON: NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thanks so much.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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