The late Sen. Lindsey Graham on April 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate on Friday approved a long-awaited Russia and Iran sanctions bill named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
The bill was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 86-11.
Sen. Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister who is currently filling his seat in the chamber and running for a full six-year term this November, gaveled down the vote.
The package would impose primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and other countries that support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions target Russian political officials and oligarchs, banks and financial institutions, and the Russian shadow fleet, according to a release from a bipartisan group of senators who unveiled the legislation.
This bill still needs to head to the House of Representatives, which is currently on recess until the end of the month.
House Speaker Mike Johnson previously stated he supports sanctioning Russia, but it’s unclear whether the bill will have the support it needs in the lower chamber.
Graham, who died suddenly last month at the age of 71, was a champion of the bill.
A foreign policy hawk, Graham was one of the Republican conference’s most outspoken Ukraine allies and had a strong relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Graham had made his 10th visit to Ukraine shortly before his death.
Zelenskyy attended Graham’s funeral services in Washington, D.C., and was on Capitol Hill last week when the Senate first advanced the Russia sanctions bill, celebrating it as important pressure on Russia.
“It’s not only about money, how to stop how to finance this war, but it’s also a big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine, big support of our people,” Zelenskyy said at the time.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) walks out of the Senate Chambers during a vote in the U.S. Capitol Building on July 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy announced Friday he will vote for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Department of Justice, likely clearing the way for Blanche to be narrowly confirmed.
All eyes were on Cassidy after two other Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, announced their opposition to President Donald Trump’s nominee.
Cassidy, in a speech on the Senate floor, said that he is supporting Blanche because he sees him as more favorable than potential alternatives.
“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, and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche,” the senator said. “This puts at risk the progress made fighting violent crime, human and drug trafficking and fraud. And this does not serve the American people well.”
Cassidy, who is leaving office in January after losing to a Republican primary challenger and who has clashed with Trump several times in recent months, appeared to grow emotional as he stated his case.
“This is not a referendum on President Trump. It is a decision regarding Mr. Blanche and very specific circumstances. All considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I’ll be criticized for this vote. What’s new?” Cassidy said, taking a long pause and choking up before he continued. “But people of Louisiana can be assured that I work hard to understand the issue, and to make the right decision.”
The Senate has not yet agreed when they will hold a full vote on Blanche’s nomination.
While Murkowski said she would “oppose” Blanche’s nomination, it remains unclear whether she will cast a “no” vote or use a procedural pairing arrangement with absent Sen. Mitch McConnell that would allow her not to vote while maintaining the balance of the Senate.
Murkowski said in a statement released Friday morning that she had “numerous constructive meetings” with Blanche and described him as “decent and capable.” She also praised his efforts to learn about Alaska and said that, as acting attorney general, he had made “several noteworthy decisions” that would benefit the state and the nation.
“Ultimately, however, I will oppose his nomination,” Murkowski said in a statement, citing concerns about what she described as the politicization and “weaponization” of the Justice Department.
“The politicization — even weaponization — of the Department did not start with this administration but has accelerated during it,” Murkowski said.
Among the issues she cited were the handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, what she called “sweeping immunity protections” granted to the president, his family and their businesses, statements made to anti-abortion groups, and what she described as the repeated targeting of individuals ranging from former administration staff to sitting U.S. senators.
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski added. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
Earlier this week, Collins said in a statement that she would vote no on Blanche’s nomination.
“While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” Collins said in a statement. “Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seen in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. Musk served as an adviser to Trump and led the Department of Government Efficiency. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — When Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency launched its effort to slash federal spending last year, it also created a website to show how much money it said it was saving taxpayers.
A new review by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the site’s claim of $110 billion in taxpayer savings was vastly inflated and unreliable.
The report found DOGE could not provide enough information to verify 96% of its reported savings from canceled grants.
Despite its pledge of transparency, the report found DOGE did not use its stated methodology to calculate about half of the savings it reported.
“Because U.S. DOGE Service officials did not respond to requests for information, GAO could not determine the reasons why DOGE did not disclose data quality issues and limitations when the website first went live or at any time since then,” the report said.
The report also found DOGE failed to terminate some of the contracts it claimed to have canceled. According to the report, $27.4 billion in claimed savings was never executed, and DOGE did not provide identifying information for another $7.2 billion in claimed savings.
DOGE also claimed $1.7 billion in savings from an IT services contract for the Defense Department’s Defense Health Agency, but the report said no changes were ever made.
The report also said DOGE claimed savings from millions of dollars in leases that had already been identified for termination.
Musk has since left DOGE. ABC News reached out to Musk and the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Although DOGE formally ended on July 4, its “Wall of Receipts” remains online, claiming a total of $215 billion in taxpayer savings.
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) walks out of the Senate Chambers during a vote in the U.S. Capitol Building on July 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy announced Friday he will vote for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to permanently lead the Department of Justice.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Mitch McConnell delivers an opening statement during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the FY2027 budget request in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, after weeks of in-patient care following a fall in mid-June, announced via a statement from his office on Thursday that he has been discharged from a rehabilitation center and will continue his recovery at home.
“Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home,” McConnell said in a statement. “Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff.”
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” McConnell added.
McConnell was first hospitalized on June 14 for reasons that were initially undisclosed by his office.
While his office has released two photographs of McConnell since his hospitalization, the Kentucky senator has not been seen in public.
Late last month, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called on McConnell to either “verbally” show proof to Kentuckians that he can still serve in the Senate or to resign from Congress.
In a statement issued on July 12, nearly a month later, McConnell said he was hospitalized due to a fall that left him briefly unconscious. He also said he had to deal with a “mild case of pneumonia.”
In that same July 12 statement, McConnell said he had been moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility to recover.
The former Republican leader has not been seen on Capitol Hill since June 11.
McConnell has said he intends to finish his term, which expires in January. The seven-term senator has already said he does not intend to seek reelection in January.
The Senate is expected to recess until mid-September in the coming days. McConnell’s statement suggests he won’t be seen in the Capitol until at least then.
Before departing for recess, the Senate is expected to take up acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice. With McConnell’s absence, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes.
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell was discharged Thursday from the rehabilitation center and will continue his recovery at home.
“Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home,” McConnell said in a statement. “Elaine and I are grateful for the many well wishes and support from friends, colleagues, and Kentuckians, and for the attentive care I’ve received from excellent doctors, nurses, therapists, and hospital staff.”
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” McConnell added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
VC-25B Bridge, an interim Air Force One presidential aircraft, stands ready on the tarmac on Aug. 4, 2026, in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The “bridge” aircraft, a $400 million gift from Qatar, is a modified Boeing 747-8 that bridges the gap until fully customized long-term replacement Air Force One planes are completed.
(WASHINGTON) — “No final decision has been made yet” about the future of the new Air Force One jet donated by Qatar following President Donald Trump’s second term, a White House official told ABC News.
Trump has pledged for more a year that the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747-8 that was given to the president in a controversial move, would be transferred to his presidential library after his term concluded.
Sources familiar with the proposed arrangement have previously told ABC News that ownership of the plane will be transferred shortly before Trump leaves office to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation.
Questions about the president’s plans for the plane remain — including whether Trump would keep it for personal use, if he would leave it for the next president as part of the Air Force One fleet, or if there are other plans in store.
The gifted plane has long been expected to be used as the new Air Force One until shortly before Trump leaves office, at which time ownership of the plane will be transferred to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, sources familiar with the proposed arrangement have previously told ABC News.
The White House official’s comments on Wednesday followed reports from NBC News and The New York Times that called into question the fate of the plane.
Trump’s son Eric Trump reportedly told NBC News in a text message that it was “not the plan” for the jet to be delivered to the library. “No. That’s not the plan at the moment for Miami,” he reportedly texted the outlet.
Eric Trump, who is involved in developing his father’s presidential library in Miami, suggested that an older decommissioned Air Force One jet would instead be going to the library, not the Qatari-gifted one, NBC News reported.
The Qatari royal family’s donation of the luxury jet valued at approximately $400 million, an unprecedented foreign gift, raised questions from some lawmakers and ethics experts.
The Air Force last year originally estimated it would cost less than $400 million to retrofit the plane to meet stringent security standards, though it’s unclear how much exactly has been spent so far.
Prior to the jet’s first presidential flight in July, the U.S. Air Force said it had been modifying the jet Texas since September to meet the security, communications and other needs to transport the president. Many of the details of the retrofitting on the new plane are considered classified.
Trump in July said plane would be further “maxed out” with security features, undergoing an upgrade that was expected to put it out of commission for about a month in the near future.
Those comments came after the plane carried Trump to July’s NATO summit in Turkey. As Trump prepared to depart the summit, the Secret Service urged the president to take the older Air Force One jet as a precaution, due in part for the differences in security capabilities, ABC News learned at the time.
When asked in May 2025 by ABC News’ Rachel Scott about the future of the plane, the president said it would be sent “directly” to his presidential library after he leaves office, adding, “I wouldn’t be using it, no.”
Trump repeatedly referenced former President Ronald Reagan’s library as a model for his own. A Boeing 707 Air Force One jet was retired to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, in 2001.
“Someday, it will be like Ronald Reagan, they decommission them,” Trump said during the May 2025 event. “You know, they get to a certain age, they decommission them. It’ll go to my library. They’re talking about going to my library in years out.”
ABC News’ Rachel Scott contributed to this report.
Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
The committee’s party-line vote of 8-5 comes after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions at a hearing last week about his role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic and its origins.
A contempt resolution would normally now head to the full Senate, where it would require 60 votes. It is unlikely the Fauci resolution would receive enough support in the full Senate to pass.
Democrats attempted several times on Thursday to table the resolution but were unsuccessful.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chair, said Fauci could not plead the Fifth Amendment given he was preemptively pardoned by President Joe Biden out of fear of political prosecution.
“Dr. Fauci’s assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege was unsupported in light of the pardon and the testimony he offered in his opening statement,” Paul said ahead of the vote.
“We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence,” Paul added.
Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, the committee’s ranking member, criticized the vote and the “damaging precedent” it sets, saying this “could harm our ability to conduct future investigations and disregards constitutional protections long recognized by the U.S. Senate.”
“This resolution will not provide the committee with any additional information, or compel Dr. Fauci to provide answers to our inquiries. Criminal contempt is punitive; it does not compel a witness to answer questions or produce the documents we’d all like to see,” Peters said.
Peters also condemned Paul’s suggestion of possibly referring the contempt resolution directly to the Department of Justice after the vote, saying “that would be even more dangerous and widely unprecedented move.”
Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) leaves a House Republican Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump called Rep. Max Miller on Monday and raised concerns about his reelection bid following domestic abuse allegations, two sources tell ABC News.
Police reports obtained by ABC News show that Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, alleged multiple incidents of physical violence during their marriage and divorce proceedings. Miller, a Republican seeking another term representing Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, has denied the allegations.
During his phone conversation with Trump, Miller denied the allegations to the president and showed no interest in leaving the race, sources said.
Miller’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the phone call. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Monday, prior to the phone call, Trump called Miller a “good person” and said he was going to “let the families figure that out” when asked about the allegations.
Miller, a former Trump White House aide, was married to Emily Moreno from 2022 to 2024 and the two have one child, a 2-year-old daughter. The couple married at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, club at a ceremony that included a toast by Trump.
The police reports obtained by ABC News also show Emily Moreno told the police that her daughter received physical injuries while in Miller’s care. Miller denies abusing his wife or daughter. He was never charged with a crime and the Department of Children and Family Services did not find evidence to substantiate allegations of child abuse, according to records released in court filings.
Miller faces a Wednesday deadline to drop out in order to be replaced on the ballot.
He is facing growing scrutiny — including from his former father-in-law, who said on Monday that Miller “should not serve in the House” — and is lashing out on social media at senators who support him stepping aside.
According to report by Politico, those Republican senators include Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas.
Miller responded on social media late on Monday, specifically addressing Capito, who told Politico she supports Moreno’s position.
Miller replied, “@SenCapito here’s the facts: 1. Every accusation that has been thrown my way has been found unsubstantiated by the court system as well as mine and my ex-wife’s court appointed mediator (who is a psychologist and mandatory reporter). Let me know if you want me to read the rest of the files to you.”
He did not address Marshall’s comments to Politico. Marshall told the news outlet that Miller “should resign. He should quit.”
A lawyer for former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham separately announced on social media on Monday evening that he has “filed for a Temporary Restraining Order against Cong. Max Miller (R-OH) on behalf of former Trump Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.”
Grisham is currently suing Miller over violations of the terms of a confidential settlement related to his defamation case against her. She alleged that he abused her during their romantic relationship during the first Trump administration. Miller has denied her allegations of abuse.
The White House declined to comment last week on allegations of abuse by Miller toward Grisham or Moreno.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a Cabinet Meeting at Camp Davaid, the presidential retreat, July 31, 2026, in Camp David, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Under pressure from two Republican senators blocking his confirmation as the next attorney general, Todd Blanche said he is formally rescinding his establishment of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Blanche posted two separate orders on X Sunday night, one rescinding the nearly $1.8 billion fund, as well as another clarifying language regarding the scope of an arrangement that had shielded Trump from facing further IRS audits of his past tax returns.
The move prompted Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who had been holding up Blanche’s nomination, to announce Monday that they are ready to move forward.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Blanche will likely need the support of every Republican on the committee to advance to the floor.
He is expected to be voted out of committee, setting up a final confirmation vote later this week.
“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund,” Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement. “Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share.”
“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” they said.
As part of Trump’s settlement with the IRS in his $10 billion lawsuit against the agency, the DOJ issued an addendum, signed by Blanche in his role as acting attorney general, that would bar the government from continuing any existing audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies.
Cornyn said last week that he did need the DOJ to modify the language of the settlement, but that he wants written documentation that the settlement won’t provide tax audit immunity that extends to affiliated organizations for Trump and his family that weren’t part of the lawsuit.
Blanche’s post on Sunday is a signal that he had secured approval from Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who had been key holdouts on his nomination. The GOP senators had been working behind closed doors and in private talks with Blanche and his team to craft statements they’d find acceptable to alter the language of the controversial settlement.
“Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS,” Cornyn spokesperson Natalie Yezbick said in a statement late on Sunday.
Some legal experts and even MAGA supporters of the fund, however, have already begun questioning whether it precludes DOJ from giving mass payouts to pro-Trump rioters or the clarification that Cornyn had initially sought to the IRS immunity clause.
The order dealing with IRS immunity notably states that DOJ would interpret the order to mean that it only applies to plaintiffs in Trump and his son’s initial $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS — but that interpretation doesn’t appear to be similarly binding on Trump’s personal lawyers or his family.
And some previous vocal supporters of the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund” are already cheering on the language of the order rescinding it — noting that there’s nothing specifically barring DOJ from payouts to pro-Trump supporters who may have attacked police during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Blanche’s orders on Sunday come after Trump floated the possibility of temporarily withdrawing Blanche’s nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice because of the resistance from the two outgoing Republican senators.
Both senators’ terms will end in January. Cornyn lost a primary battle in Texas earlier this year after Trump endorsed his opponent, Ken Paxton. Tillis announced last year he would not seek reelection after Trump threatened to field primary challengers.
Withdrawing Blanche’s nomination is a decision that would have no consequence in terms of Blanche leading the DOJ.
Blanche can continue to serve as acting attorney general. Acting department officials can serve in the role for 210 days, according to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act — however, that resets if a nomination is withdrawn.
