— Millie Bobby Brown was blunt with this costar during a lie detector test. It’s good to be self-aware.
Reference Checks
And Why Should We Hire You?
First up, Todd Blanche: The Senate began confirmation hearings yesterday for two critical Trump administration positions. But Blanche has been acting attorney general since April, so his was more of a performance review. Blanche faced pointed questions from both sides about setting up President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” as part of an IRS settlement, which has been criticized as a potential cash grab for the president’s allies. Blanche promised the fund is not moving forward — though lawmakers seemed unconvinced. Lame-duck Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) grilled Blanche on the part of the settlement that grants Trump protection from future IRS audits. If just one Republican on the committee votes "no" to Blanche’s nomination, it will effectively end his chances. And Cornyn seems to be flirting with the idea. Blanche also fielded questions about the Justice Department’s mishandling of the Epstein files. Dems plan to bring an Epstein survivor to testify against him later today.
Coming up Clayton: Meanwhile, Trump’s intelligence director pick, Jay Clayton, had his first hearing. Clayton was expected to sail through confirmation (if only because no one wants acting Director Bill Pulte in the job). But after Trump delayed the proceedings, Dems had time to get skeptical. When Clayton’s hearing began yesterday, he faced tougher questions than initially anticipated. He repeatedly declined to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and defended subpoenaing journalists. (Tonight, Trump is expected to make further false claims of election fraud during a primetime address.) Despite all this, Clayton is expected to be confirmed. Job interviews don’t matter as much when you’ve got pals on the hiring committee.
