Axios

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that would keep the government funded through Dec. 11, moving Washington closer to avoiding another shutdown before the November midterms.

Why it matters: The bipartisan 90-6 vote would push the next government funding deadline past Election Day while offering some checks on the Trump administration.

Nothing has improved my work and life more than my new operating philosophy: Simplify.

• I've seen such a dramatic improvement at Axios, and in my personal life, that I co-wrote a new book explaining step by step how it works. It's called "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less."

Why it matters: Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and I dig deep into real-world experience and science to show you why most people waste years of their lives doing needless stuff out of habit or inertia.

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei asked two of the smartest political handicappers to help us think about 2026 midterm outcomes:

• Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider and former Axios campaign expert, and David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

Senate

Where it stands: 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, 2 independents caucusing with Dems (making 47 total).

• Democrats need: 4 flips to get to 51. Fifty isn't enough — the tiebreak is Republican.

Synagogues across the U.S. are having congregants train to be volunteer security teams as antisemitic assaults hit record levels and Jewish gathering places face increasing threats.

Driving the news: The front doorways of many synagogues are becoming both a place of welcome and a security checkpoint — a sign of how antisemitism is reshaping Jewish life in America.

The Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as the next attorney general early Saturday, capping a tumultuous path to office for President Trump's former personal attorney.

The big picture: Blanche's appointment is a win for the Trump administration, especially after a journey that saw some Republicans hold out at multiple stages of the process.

• At one point Trump threatened to keep him as acting attorney general for months, after two GOP senators withheld their votes to advance him from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
• Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) both eventually supported Blanche's advancement after Blanche confirmed that a controversial $1.776 billion fund to pay out perceived victims of political weaponization was dead.

Driving the news: The pre-dawn vote was split 50-49, mostly along party lines.

• Every Democratic member present voted against the Trump nominee, joined by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was not present amid a lengthy health-related absence.
• Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was broadly seen as Democrats' best shot at blocking Blanche's nomination, but he announced Friday that he'd vote in favor of the president's former personal attorney.
• Blanche has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since this spring.

State of play: Blanche will now formally take over the post held by Pam Bondi before she was pushed out.

• With Blanche as acting attorney general, the DOJ has continued its unconventionally close alignment with the White House, renewing attempts to prosecute individuals in line with the president's wishes.

Friction point: While Blanche won over Republican defectors on the controversial fund, he's continued to face sharp criticism from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein — stemming from another controversy that threatened to derail his nomination.

• Tillis had given Blanche another mandate to earn his vote: meeting with Epstein victims. Blanche did so, but multiple survivors publicly panned the meeting as demoralizing and unproductive.

The bottom line: Not much changes with "acting" dropped from Blanche's title. But his confirmation represents the official start of an aggressive new era for the DOJ.

Go deeper: Blanche poised for confirmation vote after he kills Trump's fund

Senate Republican leaders are tantalizingly close to a deal to take some uncomfortable votes in exchange for leaving town at a more comfortable hour.

Why it matters: President Trump won't like all of the outcomes, but senators don't plan to be around to hear about it.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to spend the next few months rallying Southern voters after the Supreme Court "basically undid the Voting Rights Act," she said while speaking to students Friday in New Orleans.

The big picture: Harris characterized the Louisiana v. Callais decision, which narrowed legal protections against racial gerrymandering, as one of several "obstacles" to voting ahead of November's elections.

The Trump administration has launched a new effort to remove Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, notifying her that President Trump is considering her removal and giving her 21 days to respond to mortgage fraud allegations in a letter obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The Supreme Court this year blocked Trump's first attempt to remove Cook, finding that the Fed official was not given notice or a chance to respond.

The Trump administration will ask the Supreme Court to reverse a block on its White House ballroom project, the president said Friday after a federal appeals court decided his plans need congressional approval.

The big picture: Trump's demolition of the East Wing and $400 million expansion project roiled Washington, sparking a legal challenge that now seems set for the nation's highest court.

The Senate passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill Friday in an 86-11 vote.

Why it matters: The legislation would impose new sanctions on Russia, renew Iran sanctions and hand President Trump fresh authority to slap tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) announced Friday that he will vote for Todd Blanche's for attorney general, boosting his prospects for confirmation before the Senate leaves for its August recess.

Why it matters: Cassidy's vote keeps Blanche's nomination alive despite previous opposition from Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

A nonpartisan coalition urged Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Friday to cast the deciding vote against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Trump's pick to head the Department of Justice, according to a letter obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The pressure is building on Cassidy — who will make an announcement on his vote at 10:40 a.m. ET — to oppose Blanche. If Cassidy says he's a no, it would effectively tank Blanche's chance of being confirmed.

The profile of the proposed $67 billion merger between NextEra and Dominion just got even higher — and the path toward creating a new power giant just got even trickier.

Why it matters: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's (D) move Thursday to formally take part in the state regulatory proceeding is more than just inside baseball.

America's employers unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The report shows the first job decline since February alongside steep downward revisions to previous months' data — hinting at bigger cracks in the labor market than previously known.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will vote against Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, becoming the second known Republican to oppose him.

Why it matters: Murkowski's opposition puts Blanche's confirmation in jeopardy.

• With Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) still absent from the Senate, Blanche cannot afford to lose any more GOP support.
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has already announced her opposition, and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has yet to announce his position.

What they are saying: "The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration," Murkowski said Friday in a 6 a.m. post on X. "I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case."

Zoom in: Majority Leader John Thune has not yet scheduled a final confirmation vote before the Senate is set to leave for its August recess.

• "We intend to vote on him before we leave, and I am hopeful and optimistic that we will get him confirmed," Thune said on Fox News Thursday.
• Earlier this week, Blanche appeared to be on track after the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination.
• Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) dropped their opposition after reaching a written agreement with Blanche that President Trump's proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund would be terminated.

Friction point: But Collins' announcement threw the nomination's fate into doubt.

• Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has occasionally supported some of President Trump's nominees, has said he will vote against Blanche.
• Blanche met with Murkowski and Cassidy on Wednesday night, but neither senator indicated at the time how they would vote.

The intrigue: McConnell's office said Thursday that he was discharged from the hospital but did not give a date on when he would return to the Senate.

• McConnell has not publicly said how he would vote on Blanche.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.

Read the polls, watch economic indicators and talk to President Trump's inner circle in private, and the verdict on his second term seems clear:

• Even some longtime insiders fear he's trapped by a war he shouldn't have waged, tariffs he shouldn't have levied, monuments he shouldn't be obsessed with.

Why it matters: These three topics chew up much of Trump's time and attention. All three are widely unpopular in polls.

Republicans plan to use their first-ever midterm convention in Dallas next month to mount a sweeping, made-for-prime-time case that Democrats have become captive to their activist left, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: With President Trump's approval rating in the 30s and his war in Iran weighing on the economy, Republicans don't want the Nov. 3 midterms to be just a referendum on his presidency.

Americans across the country could have very different experiences with AI deepfakes leading up to Election Day, thanks to a patchwork of state rules.

Why it matters: AI-generated attack ads and campaign content are rampant leading up to the midterms as candidates across the political spectrum use the technology.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is waging an unprecedented economic war on Cuba — and wants to make sure the island's communist leaders know it's going to get worse.

• "What we're trying to teach them is there are no escape valves," Rubio told Axios.

Why it matters: Cuba's economy is in a state of slow-motion collapse because of crushing U.S. sanctions and communist mismanagement of the island, which prides itself as the hemisphere's chief foe of the superpower 90 miles to its north.

Former Tennessee agriculture official Charlie Hatcher ousted Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles to win the District 5 House Republican primary election on Thursday.

Why it matters: A primary loss is rare for an incumbent member of Congress, especially a Republican backed by President Trump.

• Ogles, who took office in 2023, was dogged by scandals, such as misrepresenting his resume and failing to explain a personal loan on his campaign finance reports.