Politics & World Affairs — August 7, 2026

Murkowski opposes Blanche nomination. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she will vote against Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general, joining fellow Republican Susan Collins and leaving Blanche's path to confirmation uncertain.

With two Republican senators now publicly opposed, the nomination faces a narrower margin in the Senate, according to Axios. Collins had already announced her opposition before Murkowski's decision, making Murkowski the second GOP holdout. The outlet reports the combined defections leave it unclear whether Blanche can secure enough votes to be confirmed as attorney general.

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Senate panel holds Fauci in contempt. A Senate panel voted along party lines to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions about the COVID-19 response.

The contempt vote followed repeated refusals by Fauci to answer the panel's questions about his role in the pandemic response, according to Axios. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination rather than testify. The party-line outcome underscores the partisan divide over congressional scrutiny of the COVID-19 response, with Republicans on the panel supporting the contempt measure and Democrats opposing it.

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Michigan primary fallout deepens. Centrist group Third Way launched a $15 million campaign against the Democratic Socialists of America following Abdul El-Sayed's win in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary.

The Hill reports the primary exposed a near-even split among Michigan Democratic voters between progressive and centrist visions for the party, leaving Democrats with a unity problem three months before the general election. Republicans plan to use their convention to portray Democrats as captured by socialists, while Third Way's spending signals centrists intend to contest the party's direction beyond this single race.

The Hill · Read more →