Senate confirms Todd Blanche attorney general by one vote
Trump's former personal criminal-defense lawyer takes over the Justice Department, his last votes secured by a written pledge to rescind the $1.8 billion fund several senators had set as their price.
Blanche confirmed attorney general, 50-491
The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche, President Trump's former personal criminal-defense lawyer, as attorney general early Saturday by a vote of 50 to 49. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans opposed, and every Democrat voted no.1 Blanche, who had been serving as acting attorney general, won the last votes after assuring wavering senators in writing on 2 August that a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund was "rescinded and shall have no force or effect." Bill Cassidy of Louisiana supplied the decisive vote.2
Divided D.C. Circuit keeps the White House ballroom blocked3
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted 2 to 1 on 7 August to uphold the injunction barring above-ground construction of a new White House ballroom without congressional authorization. The panel stayed its own order 14 days so the administration can seek Supreme Court review. The court called the White House "the People's House" and wrote that "[e]ach President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence."3 Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia formed the majority over Judge Neomi Rao, who dissented on the National Trust's standing. The majority held that the Constitution's Property Clause gives Congress control of federal property and that a 1912 statute bars erecting any building on federal parkland in Washington without express congressional authority.3 The administration puts the project at roughly 90,000 square feet with seating for 1,000.4
- Stage
- Preliminary injunction upheld 2-1; order stayed 14 days for Supreme Court review
- Question
- May the executive raise a ballroom on federal parkland without congressional authorization?
- Stakes
- Whether a sitting president can alter the White House grounds by what the majority called "Executive self-help"
July payrolls fell 23,000 as prior months were revised down5
U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The larger revision was in the back numbers. The Bureau marked May and June down by a combined 103,000 jobs from what it had first reported.5 Forecasters had expected payrolls to grow by about 83,000, per a Dow Jones survey of economists.6
| Month | First reported | Revised |
|---|---|---|
| May | +129 000 | +63 000 |
| June | +57 000 | +20 000 |
Trump signs order narrowing birthright citizenship7
President Trump signed an executive order on 6 August directing that "no executive department or agency shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship" to a person when neither parent is a citizen and listed conditions apply. A companion order signed the same day ends "birth tourism."7 It takes a narrower path than his 2025 order, which the Supreme Court struck down on 30 June, and the new order cites that decision.8
Sources
- U.S. Senate · Roll Call Vote 119-2-00230, Confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General
- NPR · Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general
- U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit · Opinion in No. 26-5123 (Aug. 7, 2026)
- NPR · Appeals court says the White House ballroom needs congressional approval
- Bureau of Labor Statistics · The Employment Situation, July 2026
- NBC News · The U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July
- The White House · Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship
- NPR · Trump signs orders curbing birthright citizenship