GOP’s Cornyn continues to block Todd Blanche as attorney general
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) attend a Finance Committee hearing on July 30, 2026, in Washington, DC. Cornyn is withholding support for President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, Todd Blanche, until he gets reassurances on Trump’s IRS lawsuit settlement and the elimination of the “anti-weaponization fund.” (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. John Cornyn continues to block Todd Blanche’s path to confirmation as attorney general, saying Thursday morning that there were “new complications.”
Cornyn is demanding the Department of Justice put in writing that the nearly $1.8 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is officially dead, and that the scope of President Donald Trump’s immunity deal with the IRS be narrowed.
“I know that Todd Blanch understands it, but I think he’s probably getting some pushback from the White House, and that’s making things more complicated than there needs to be,” Cornyn told ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(BELLUVUE, Neb.) — While Congress is out of session this week, a House Republican encountered a hostile crowd at a heated town hall meeting in Bellevue, Nebraska, Tuesday night – a sour reception that may preview the tenor other lawmakers could face heading into the midterm elections.
Rep. Mike Flood faced repeated boos and shouts from audience members as they pressed him on the SAVE America Act, Israel, NATO, the bipartisan housing bill, the Trump administration’s policies and more, as seen on video of the town hall recorded by ABC affiliate KETV in Omaha.
While it’s uncertain how many in the audience were constituents, Tuesday’s contentious event wasn’t the first time Flood has found himself before angry crowds at town halls. Flood was shouted down and booed in Seward, Nebraska, where hundreds of people attended his town hall May 28 of last year, while defending the then-proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“F—— liar!” one attendee shouted at Flood Tuesday while he was discussing violent crime rates declining and the Trump administration’s ongoing deportation efforts.
“Listen, violent crime is down – ask the people of Washington, D.C., how much safer Washington is today compared to a year ago,” Flood said as the audience jeered.
“Violent crime is down in American cities. Violent crime is down in New York City. A lot of people that came here that were committing crimes have either been incarcerated or deported. The numbers speak for themselves,” Flood said.
Flood also was drowned out by the audience as he voiced his support for the proposed SAVE America Act and voter ID laws – key issues that are part of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
“What I can’t stand is what is so objectionable about having to show a driver’s license, a passport, or a birth certificate at your place where you vote,” Flood said, as the attendees booed.
The congressman further said that while Nebraska in his “opinion” deals with “little” election fraud, he added, “when people believe that our elections are secure, it breeds respect for the law, our democracy, our country, our election leaders. There are so many benefits.”
A man in the audience demanded the congressman explain the evidence he has to back up claims of election fraud, which Trump continues to promote without evidence to support his claims. Flood pushed back, saying he believes Joe Biden was duly elected president in the 2020 election.
”I have never argued that there was an inaccurate result, and I always recognized Joe Biden was our president, so I am not a congressman that has ever made that claim,” Flood responded.
Constituents further heckled Flood when the congressman said, “I want to be very clear: We have no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel,” prompting loud boos from the audience.
“What happened in Israel was horrific,” Flood said, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas. “If that had happened on our soil, we as Americans would rise up and eliminate that threat.”
As the conversation continued to scrutinize the Trump administration’s foreign policy, Flood also appeared to defend the administration’s actions in Iran.
“We need to finish the job. We cannot put up with a regime that in the last 12 months has killed 45,000 of their own people. That is wrong. We have to have moral clarity here,” he said. “I support Israel.”
While Trump attends the NATO Summit in Turkey, Flood said he fully supports the alliance, declaring it “has contributed greatly to the security of the world. I think they’re an important part of us.”
Flood received a more positive response regarding other topics, such as when he called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a thug” and voiced his support for Ukraine. He also earned some applause when he expressed confidence that the bipartisan housing bill currently on Trump’s desk will become law.
“If [Trump] doesn’t sign it, it becomes law, and the good news about this is next week it’s likely to be a public law,” he said. “That’s what I’m focusing on – bipartisan common-sense results.”
However, when Flood brought up the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes massive cuts to government benefits such as Medicaid and SNAP food assistance, the audience loudly booed. Several constituents raised concerns about losing SNAP benefits under the new law.
“I want people that are food insecure to get resources. I also want people that are able-bodied and can work to work. If you don’t work, you shouldn’t expect free healthcare,” Flood said.
Flood’s comments about Medicaid prompted one audience member to shout “tax the rich” in response.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on June 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The United States and Iran are sharing conflicting messages about the prospects of a meeting between key negotiators in Qatar this week, injecting even more uncertainty into a peace process that is supposed to be focused on addressing Iran’s nuclear program but has so far been dominated by the Strait of Hormuz.
Talks between the countries were originally scheduled to take place in Switzerland this week and center on nuclear issues, but the venue and agenda for the planned high-level and technical meetings changed following a fresh round of tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran over the strategic waterway, a U.S. official and another source said.
While the Trump administration is pushing for direct talks, it is still unclear whether Iranian and American officials will meet face-to-face or communicate solely through Qatari mediators, they added.
President Trump announced on Monday that a meeting would take place in Qatar’s capital on Tuesday at Tehran’s request.
“IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” Trump said in a social media post on Monday morning.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said the U.S. would be represented by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, adding that both high-level and technical talks with Iran were expected to take place.
Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, painted a different picture of the upcoming meetings. He said that while an Iranian delegation would travel to Doha to discuss the implementation of the interim deal between the U.S. and Iran, their trip bore no connection to Kushner and Witkoff’s visit.
“There are no negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level scheduled in the coming days,” Baghaei asserted.
The Iranian regime’s apparent hesitancy to resume in-person talks is a significant step back from the high-level talks that took place in Switzerland earlier this month following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the countries. After that meeting, Vice President JD Vance reported that lengthy conversations with senior Iranian officials had resulted in a “good foundation for a successful final deal,” and said they made progress towards the creation of a “mechanism” to ensure the Strait of Hormuz would remain open.
The interim deal stipulates that Iran should “make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa.”
But Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, and on Thursday, it attacked a container ship transiting the waterway–setting off a four-day exchange of strikes with the U.S. that stymied ship traffic.
Trump administration officials are eager to restore conditions in the Strait of Hormuz to their pre-war norm, but sources told ABC News that recent intelligence reports predict Tehran will continue threatening to resume its chokehold on the waterway — a reality that gives Iran significant leverage over the global economy.
The memorandum of understanding also calls for Iran and the U.S. to hammer out a sweeping agreement within 60 days. Almost a quarter of that time has now expired.
While the interim deal says that period can be extended by mutual agreement, Trump has repeatedly declared he wouldn’t let Iran draw out the negotiations.
“We’re negotiating from a position of pure strength, pure strength. They know that,” Trump said on Thursday.
Former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell departs the U.S. Capitol Building on March 5, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The FBI seized former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s electronic devices as part of an ongoing criminal probe, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Swalwell was served with a search warrant for his cellphone and other electronic devices while he was at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday night, according to sources, and agents served a search warrant at his Washington, D.C., home on Sunday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
