Senator John Cornyn refuses to vote for Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney general, until the Justice Department documents what it already claims is true.
Blanche settled Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS with a $1.8 billion fund for his allies and a shield protecting his family’s past tax returns from audit, forever. Blanche testified the fund is dead. When Cornyn and Thom Tillis, both Republicans, asked for that in writing, the department spent hours negotiating. Trump now says he’ll keep Blanche in the job unconfirmed and wait until both senators leave office in January.
Nobody negotiates for hours over signing a true statement.
I’ve emailed 8,455 stories over 546 straight nights, free and without ads. The algorithm can’t show them all to you. Add your email address at govbrief.today and I will.
π‘88|π’60|π‘108|π 115|π’61
State Department shows an AI-generated Africa map mislabeling all six countries it highlighted at a global AIDS conference before African partners.
Today’s GovBrief News
Trump tells a right-wing radio host to bet that Greenland falls under U.S. control before he leaves office, dismissing the territory's own stake as irrelevant.
Source: Mediaite
July 31, 2026
U.S. plans its harshest bombing campaign yet on Iranian energy sites this weekend, bringing Israel back to combat for the first time since the truce.
Source: CBS News
July 31, 2026
Interior Dept. orders the largest Colorado River cuts ever for Arizona, California and Nevada, reducing supply by 3 million acre-feet over the coming decade.
Source: UPI
July 31, 2026
ABC argues in an FCC filing that early license review of eight stations is retaliation for Trump coverage, warning every network faces the same choice.
Source: The Guardian
July 31, 2026
Pentagon gives up command of the NATO group coordinating Ukraine military aid, ending the U.S. role in shaping Ukraine's future military.
Source: Politico
July 31, 2026
Trump tells his Cabinet the $1.8 billion fund to compensate his prosecuted allies is dead, hours after posting that they deserve payment.
Source: The Associated Press
July 31, 2026
Trump appeals a ruling that his $10 billion IRS lawsuit was a bad-faith vehicle for taxpayer funds and audit immunity, hours after calling the fund dead.
Source: CNBC
July 31, 2026
DOJ moves to drop charges against a former Olympian for Reflecting Pool damage Trump blamed on vandals without evidence, admitting the installation was botched.
Source: WTTG Washington
July 31, 2026
Trump administration moves to strip Head Start standards for class sizes, medical screenings and literacy after failing to block the program's funding.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
July 31, 2026
All 14 GOP senators on Armed Services vote to kill expanded military IVF coverage, reversing course on the treatment Trump promised free for all.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
July 31, 2026
Trump blames "grossly incompetent" Minnesota and its governor for water system cyberattacks that state and federal investigators trace to likely Iranian hackers.
Source: The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 31, 2026
Maine makes free community college permanent as new laws take effect, covering full tuition at all seven state community colleges.
Source: WGME Portland
July 31, 2026