Blanche’s AG bid teeters as Cornyn demands settlement rewrite before crucial vote

Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general is in jeopardy as Sen. John Cornyn refuses to back Blanche until he receives a written modification to a DOJ-brokered $1.8 billion IRS settlement, tying it to Blanche’s pledge to curb an anti-weaponization fund; the vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee appears risky with Tillis as a potential swing vote, and time is tight before Congress's summer recess. The live updates also note GOP governors backing a new reconciliation bill, Rand Paul’s move to hold Fauci in contempt after invoking the Fifth, and other Senate actions like Graham’s Russia sanctions bill and North Carolina campaign ads.