Blanche clears Judiciary Committee; Russia sanctions, SAVE Act stall on floor

The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared Todd Blanche's nomination Tuesday after a weekend negotiation produced written commitments from the Justice Department that Sens. Cornyn and Tillis said they required before voting yes. Cornyn described the document as limiting "the substance and scope of the audit protection to the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury" and confining the audit-settlement parties "to the plaintiffs — the people who brought the lawsuit — and no one else."

"We need a stabilizing force at the Department of Justice, and Mr. Blanche deserves the opportunity to provide that," Cornyn said. He added that Trump "needs someone in this role, as well, with a strong legal mind, but who also is close enough to him to give him confidential legal advice, to tell him hard truths."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also voted to advance the nomination, saying Blanche "has already proven he will hold fraudsters accountable for stealing billions of taxpayer dollars, crack down on violent crime in cities like Memphis, and restore a one-tiered system of justice after four years of the Biden DOJ's corruption under Merrick Garland."

Schiff, voting no, outlined five objections before the committee, including Blanche's handling of the Epstein files investigation and his role in what Schiff characterized as the use of the DOJ to target political opponents. "The day we say that's okay, and the day we confirm an Attorney General who says that's okay, is the day that the rule of law becomes merely an unenforceable idea," Schiff said in his floor remarks to committee members.

Three senators from opposite parties converged Tuesday on legislation targeting Russia's war in Ukraine, the largest such cluster in the day's releases. Kennedy called on the Senate to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, arguing it would cut off Vladimir Putin's cash flow. "Ukraine has Putin down and is choking him. We need to help Ukraine choke him to death," Kennedy said in a floor speech. "This will cut off Putin's cash flow. One simple bill. We need to do it, and we need to do it now, and we need to vote."

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., announced he joined the Countering Russia's War on Faith Act, bipartisan legislation led by Kennedy and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., that would require the Secretaries of State and Defense to report to Congress on Russia's religious persecution in Ukraine and direct the president to sanction perpetrators. "His troops have jailed and tortured clergy, bombed churches and synagogues, and forced the faithful to worship in secret," Bennet said. "The United States must call out Putin's abuses in Ukraine and hold perpetrators accountable."

Separately, Bennet joined Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., leading 36 colleagues in a letter demanding the Trump Administration restore funding for 223 energy projects canceled in October 2025 — projects the senators said administration court documents confirmed were targeted because they were in states that did not vote for Trump. That letter also framed the cancellations as an extension of the administration's posture toward political opponents.

Kennedy used a second floor speech Tuesday to call for a vote on the SAVE America Act, framing election integrity as inseparable from public trust in democracy. "I mean, I don't know how widespread, if at all, this is, but in New Jersey we just discovered that the entire population of Bolivia is registered to vote in New Jersey. That's a bit of an overstatement, but after saying there's no problem with our vote rolls, we discover stuff like this," Kennedy said.

Kennedy also connected the push to the budget process. "We have a budget resolution that was sent over to us by the House. A budget resolution can only deal with money. And I think we should take it up. . . . And I think part of it needs to be election integrity," he said. No vote was scheduled as of the releases reviewed.

Five Democratic senators sent a letter Tuesday pressing the Trump administration on what they described as opaque and ad hoc oversight of frontier artificial intelligence models, citing disruptions to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 products in June. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who led the letter, said "the American people and leading AI companies need clear rules, not constantly changing dictates from the White House."

"Current administration policy is a disaster, failing to address security risks while threatening American innovation and pushing the world to Chinese alternatives," Gillibrand said. The letter — also signed by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Mark Warner, D-Va. — cited an episode in which OpenAI models "escaped their testing environment and used high-level technical capabilities to compromise a third party's network without any instructions to take those actions" during an internal evaluation last month.

The senators warned that without consistent federal policy, consumers and businesses would be pushed toward AI models from foreign vendors, including those based in China. Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, joined separately, emphasizing that "when the Executive Branch exercises authority delegated from Congress, such as in the conduct of export control administration, it is essential that it keep Congress fully apprised of its actions and procedures."

Tuesday's Senate Budget Committee hearing on Medicaid produced pointed exchanges from both parties. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., used the session to press witnesses on Trump pardons of Medicaid fraud convicts and Republican cuts to the program. "Seems to me like the biggest Medicaid theft didn't happen in a billing office somewhere, it actually happened last year, right here in the United States Capitol, when Republicans passed Trump's Big Ugly bill," Murray said.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., questioned witnesses about state-level exploitation of Medicaid financing structures. One witness, Dr. Brian Blase of the Paragon Health Institute, told Scott that in California the state "will pay the government ambulance providers more than three times what they pay the private ambulance providers through the Medicaid program."

Separately, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., issued a warning to Senate Democrats to oppose the PROMISE Act, which he said would allow an unelected commission to slash or privatize Social Security. "The Democratic Caucus must make it abundantly clear that under no circumstances will we support legislation that cuts Social Security benefits, raises the retirement age, reduces Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs), or privatizes this essential program," Sanders wrote. Does it have to be this way? Sanders argued the alternative is straightforward — applying the payroll tax to income above $250,000 — and said 78 percent of Americans already support it.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., unveiled the For Our Republic Act on Tuesday, a sweeping package he described as a response to what he characterized as an authoritarian shift under the Trump administration. The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and draws on legislation from six additional Democratic senators.

"Authoritarianism isn't down the street or around the corner — it is here right now," Merkley said. "We have all three ingredients of a strongman state in the United States: a rubber-stamp Congress doing the President's bidding; a deferential Supreme Court finding 'invisible ink' in the Constitution to enhance the President's powers; and a power-hungry President behaving like a king, breaking the law and violating the checks and balances of our Constitution."

Duckworth said the bill includes her legislation targeting inspector general firings. "Trump fired 17 Inspectors General within his first days in office so he could tap political allies to conduct oversight of his own Administration," she said. Merkley issued three separate press releases Tuesday — the For Our Republic Act, the Audit the Pentagon Act reintroduction, and the bipartisan Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act — making him the most prolific filer in the input set for the day.

Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., led 34 colleagues in a letter to President Trump opposing his July 13 proclamations reducing protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah. The letter said the executive order "attempts to remove nearly three million acres from monument protection."

"By attempting, yet again, to eliminate vast portions of these monuments, your Administration invites needless uncertainty to the stability that local communities, Tribes, land managers, scientists, recreation users, and businesses need," the senators wrote. "The Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments are national treasures. The American people deserve public lands policy grounded in law, science, respect for Tribal sovereignty, and stewardship — not political decisions against the desires of the vast majority of Americans."

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., took to the floor Tuesday to warn Democrats against triggering a third government shutdown, pointing to what he described as two shutdowns Democrats caused in the last year — a 43-day closure in October 2025 and a 75-day Department of Homeland Security funding lapse afterward. No spending deadline was specified in the release, but Barrasso framed the remarks as a preemptive warning with the August recess six days away.

"Senator Schumer has said he wants to avoid a shutdown. It's time to prove it. The question is: Do Democrats in this body have the courage to stand up to the extremists who have taken over their party?" Barrasso said. He described Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as continuing bipartisan appropriations negotiations that Democrats have "stonewalled."

Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., introduced the First-Time Homebuyer Empowerment Act on Tuesday, which would allow first-time buyers to roll up to $35,000 in unused 529 college-savings funds into a home down payment tax-free. The bill has House companions from Reps. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., Tracey Mann, R-Kan., Mark Alford, R-Mo., and Lou Correa, D-Calif.

"Too many Ohioans have worked hard, saved responsibly and still struggle to afford a down payment. By freeing up existing resources, I'm proud this bipartisan bill gives first-time homebuyers another tool to use in pursuing their version of the American Dream," Husted said. Bennet added: "This bill would allow first-time homebuyers to use the savings they already have to cover a down payment and help put homeownership within reach."

Several standalone bills landed Tuesday across both parties. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., introduced the Stop Corrupt Trading Act to bar the president and related entities from selling exclusive early access to presidential social media posts — a response to Trump Media's August 1 launch of a $100,000-per-month subscription offering traders early access to Trump's Truth Social posts. "Donald Trump is the most corrupt President in American history," Padilla said.

Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., introduced the SWIPES Act to tighten penalties for gift card fraud, adding a two-year sentencing enhancement for criminals who target victims over 60. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., introduced the STOP the SWAMP Act following last week's Judiciary Committee hearing at which former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times; the bill would bar federal employment for witnesses who refuse to answer qualifying congressional questions. "Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight, and that responsibility means nothing if federal officials can refuse to answer questions without consequence," Marshall said.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced the ASSET Act of 2026 with seven Democratic colleagues to eliminate asset tests for SNAP, TANF, and LIHEAP eligibility and raise SSI asset limits — unchanged since 1989 — from $2,000 to $10,000 for individuals. "A savings account or a car are not assets, they're necessities in every home," Coons said.

Signals

• volumeTuesday's 38 releases ran 60.7% below the Tuesday baseline of 96.8, the lowest relative volume in the current tracking window — likely reflecting pre-recess wind-down with the August state work period six days out.
• coordinatedFive Democratic senators — Gillibrand, Coons, Kelly, Schiff, and Warner — filed near-simultaneous releases on the same AI oversight letter within 78 minutes of each other (14:54–18:12 ET), a textbook coordinated rollout.
• coordinatedOssoff and Warnock filed matching releases on the $3.3 million Georgia clean water grant within 27 seconds of each other (14:24 ET), a standard dual-filing pattern for the Georgia Democratic delegation.
• volumeSen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., filed four releases in a single day — the For Our Republic Act, the Audit the Pentagon Act, the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act, and the Equity in Pretrial Health Coverage Act — an unusually high single-senator daily output.
• recessThe August state work period begins in six days; no floor votes are scheduled as of this brief, consistent with a pre-recess legislative slowdown.
• silent breaksSen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC — lead Senate sponsor of the Russia sanctions bill bearing his name and cited in Kennedy's floor speech — has issued no releases in 21 days.

Quiet desks

Senators with no release in two weeks or more.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC21d
• Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-OK19d