ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Before dawn today, the Senate confirmed President Trump's controversial nominee for U.S. attorney general, Todd Blanche, who was previously Trump's personal attorney. That was a major win for the president's approach to keeping the Department of Justice close to the White House.
Also overnight and before they headed home for August recess this morning, the Senate failed to pass a bill on voting restrictions that Trump has demanded. NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt joins us now to talk through this. Hey, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hello.
SCHMITZ: So let's start with Todd Blanche. This was quite the roller coaster of a confirmation process, wasn't it?
SPRUNT: Yes, it was. He faced a bit of an uphill battle right from the beginning. Before he was acting attorney general and deputy attorney general, as you said, he was Trump's personal attorney...
SCHMITZ: Right.
SPRUNT: ...Representing the president in multiple criminal cases, including on issues of election obstruction and the mishandling of classified documents. And this became a big concern for Democrats - that his personal relationship with the president would color the way that he approaches the job.
Another issue he faced was the so-called anti-weaponization fund, which is the nearly $2 billion fund that was created as part of a settlement with President Trump to end his lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns. Senators on both sides of the aisle had concerns about this fund. Many thought it would be a way for January 6 defendants to get a payday. In response to that pushback, Blanche told senators the fund was nixed. And in the lead-up to this vote, he was spending a lot of time on the Hill trying to gain support from key senators.
SCHMITZ: Yeah, which ultimately seems to have worked, right?
SPRUNT: Yes, but a bit of a nail-biter in the end, especially when it came to getting those last few Republican votes he needed. Yesterday, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski said she would oppose his nomination. She said the country needs an attorney general who will check the worst impulses of the administration, and she doesn't have confidence that Blanche can achieve that.
Susan Collins of Maine had already said she'd vote against Blanche, and with Mitch McConnell out, it came down to Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. And there was a bit of a dramatic reveal on the Senate floor when Cassidy explained why he would support Blanche. And he essentially said that he wasn't sure anyone else would be more successful.
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BILL CASSIDY: Mr. Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this. But the choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche. It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump.
SPRUNT: Ultimately, the Senate approved Todd Blanche as America's attorney general in a 50-to-49 vote, the narrowest of margins.
SCHMITZ: Wow. You know, confirming Blanche was a top priority for the Senate, but it wasn't the only thing that kept them working overnight. What else was on their list last night?
SPRUNT: Well, they approved a bill to place sanctions on Russian leaders and oligarchs. That bill also allows for tariffs on countries that are the top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or gas, like China and India - the oil revenue, of course, being critical in funding Russia's military action in Ukraine. The bill was named after the late GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, who died last month. He died just a day after visiting Ukraine, where he was championing this exact bill. This passed with strong bipartisan support. The House is on recess as well, so they won't be able to vote on it until they come back next month.
SCHMITZ: OK, so the Senate got a lot done overnight, but they very notably failed to do one thing Trump was demanding they would do - pass a voting restrictions bill. What happened there?
SPRUNT: Yeah, this is a big challenge for the White House and Republican senators because the bill, which would overhaul the country's voting system - it just doesn't have enough support from Republicans to pass. President Trump has said that the Senate should get rid of filibuster rules in order to push the bill past the 60-vote threshold that's usually needed to advance this type of legislation. And that's just not something that most senators are interested in doing. It's kind of like letting the toothpaste out of the tube. It's then really hard to rein it back in.
Last night, Republicans tried to push a slimmer version of the bill down the line, but even that failed to advance. So the issue is on pause for now while everyone goes back home, but I am very sure it will rear its head again come September.
SCHMITZ: That is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thanks, Barbara.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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