{"id":3382,"date":"2026-07-29T21:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3382"},"modified":"2026-07-29T21:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:39:54","slug":"todd-blanches-rocky-road-from-the-politics-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=3382","title":{"rendered":"Todd Blanche\u2019s rocky road: From the Politics Desk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to <\/em>From the Politics Desk<\/em>, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team\u2019s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Man convicted in federal terrorism trial over stabbing of author Salman Rushdie<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s edition, we dig into the uncertain paths forward for Todd Blanche\u2019s attorney general nomination and the Iran war. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Wollner<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s IRS carveout threatens to hold up Todd Blanche\u2019s AG nomination<\/h2>\n

Todd Blanche<\/strong>\u2019s bid to the next attorney general faced a setback today as two key Republicans pressed the Justice Department to commit in writing to kill an \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund that could give money to President Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s allies and restrict the scope of the tax audit immunity given to the him and his family members.<\/p>\n

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing to advance Blanche\u2019s nomination tomorrow morning. But GOP Sens. John Cornyn<\/strong> of Texas and Thom Tillis<\/strong> of North Carolina, who have clashed with Trump and are not facing re-election in November, have emerged as potential roadblocks on Blanche\u2019s path to the full Senate. <\/p>\n

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Much of the discussion has been around the \u201canti-weaponization fund\u201d that was established under a purported settlement between Trump and the executive branch he controls over a lawsuit the president filed over the disclosure of his tax records, which led to a five-year prison sentence for a former IRS contractor.<\/p>\n

A federal judge in Virginia indefinitely blocked the fund after a former Jan. 6 prosecutor sued. A federal judge in Florida found that Trump\u2019s IRS lawsuit was brought in \u201cbad faith\u201d for an \u201cimproper purpose,\u201d and ordered sanctions against several people involved, including Blanche.<\/p>\n

But the settlement agreement also had provisions that offered Trump \u2014 along with his family members and companies \u2014 some protection from IRS audits.<\/p>\n

Cornyn, who lost his GOP primary earlier this year to Trump-backed Ken Paxton<\/strong>, told reporters that Blanche\u2019s team had failed to provide written proposals to modify the release that was signed in the tax dispute with Trump and his and his organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I\u2019ve requested,\u201d Cornyn said.<\/p>\n

Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, said he was in active discussions with the Justice Department.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re working on a draft right now,\u201d Tillis said this afternoon. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in constant daily contact with DOJ, and to their credit, they\u2019re engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/strong><\/p>\n

After Trump and Netanyahu meet, the Iran war\u2019s future remains hazy<\/h2>\n

Analysis by Andrea Mitchell<\/h3>\n

As the United States enters its sixth month of a war with Iran that Israeli and U.S. leaders both said would last only four to six weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/strong> met with President Donald Trump <\/strong>Tuesday and other top national security officials for the first time since the conflict started. <\/p>\n

In Washington for the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham<\/strong>, a key Netanyahu ally, a senior Israeli official told NBC News and other reporters that they discussed three major options: A good deal to eliminate Iran having a nuclear weapon; no deal, but a sustained blockade and economic pressure; and military action. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s IRS carveout threatens to hold up Todd Blanche attorney general nomination<\/a><\/p>\n

Without saying what Israel\u2019s preference is, a senior Israeli official said there was broad agreement \u2014 as Trump repeatedly affirms \u2014 that Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. But Trump told my colleague Kristen Welker last month that the U.S. has eyes on the nuclear facilities the U.S. and Israel bombed last June, and that nothing can move in or out of those two sites without the U.S. seeing it.<\/p>\n

Today, the Israeli official demurred from saying his country disagrees with Trump\u2019s assessments. In particular, he wouldn\u2019t say whether Netanyahu is urging the U.S. to bomb another suspected nuclear site \u2014 Pickaxe Mountain. It has been widely reported that U.S. intelligence assesses that site would be impossible to eliminate even with the most devastating U.S. bunker-buster bombs, but it could be effectively closed and made unreachable by Iran. <\/p>\n

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At the behest of the administration, Israel has not re-engaged in the recurring U.S. strikes against Iran that have taken place since a 60-day ceasefire was officially agreed to in mid-June. At the time, Israel strongly criticized the memorandum of understanding as being far too generous to Iran because it approved the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. None of that was turned over because of the collapse of diplomacy and reignition of airstrikes by both sides, and more recently, strikes by Iran against U.S. and Arab allied assets in the region. <\/p>\n

During his three days in Washington, Netanyahu also met separately with Vice President JD Vance<\/strong>, who was initially skeptical of the Iran war, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/strong> and other Pentagon officials. Still at issue: Will economic pressure alone get the Iranian regime to permit open access to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow international waterway critical to the global economy? <\/p>\n

The Israeli official who briefed reporters today acknowledged that sustained economic pressure \u2014 if it cut off all supplies to Iran \u2014 could be a solution, although it would hurt Iranian civilians. But a second Israeli official said money is still flowing from Iran\u2019s regime through Turkey to Hezbollah, its proxy that Israel is fighting in southern Lebanon. <\/p>\n

Both Trump and Netanyahu are facing elections this fall. The big difference is that Netanyahu, despite growing opposition at home, has strong popular support for resuming attacks against Iran. <\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s political reality is exactly opposite: the war has depleted the supply of U.S. missiles and interceptors for Patriot air defense systems and is damaging his popularity, even with his own base. It has caused gas and diesel fuel prices to spike and contributed to inflation. <\/p>\n

While the Israeli briefer said today that Trump has been an \u201camazing ally\u201d for Israel in the war, he acknowledged the U.S. president is the senior partner and Netanyahu the junior \u2014 making it more imperative for Trump\u2019s political standing to find some diplomatic way out of the current standoff. <\/p>\n

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\u27a1\ufe0f Related read:<\/strong> Trump increasingly \u2018exasperated\u2019 on Iran as top officials can\u2019t agree on strategy, by Courtney Kube, Monica Alba, Peter Nicholas, Gordon Lubold, Katherine Doyle and Andrea Mitchell<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f Today’s other top stories<\/h2>\n