WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche was expected to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate after one of the senators seen as a key swing vote offered his support to the nomination.
The same week, the Trump administration said it would overhaul Head Start, a federal program providing free education, health and nutrition services to hundreds of thousands of low-income children, and a new poll found inflation and the cost of living are among voters’ top concerns ahead of the midterms.
Cassidy offers support to Blanche nomination
Senate GOP leadership can afford to lose just two Republicans to confirm Blanche if Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remains absent from the upper chamber and if all 47 Senate Democrats vote “no.”
But Blanche appeared on track to narrow confirmation by the full Senate after Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of three senators seen as key swing votes in the process, said he would vote to confirm Blanche.
Previously, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is seeking reelection in a swing state in November, said Aug. 4 she will not support Blanche’s nomination. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Aug. 7 also said she would not support Blanche.
The three senators stated their positions after the nomination was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee Aug. 4. Two Republicans on that Committee — Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — pushed for written commitments from Blanche and the Department of Justice that a controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” sought by Trump will not be revived. Trump sought the fund as part of a settlement from his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
During his hearing earlier in July, Blanche also took questions from senators on issues ranging from objections to the way the Department of Justice handled the release of the Epstein files to its approach to state challenges to a policy permitting distribution of mifepristone by mail.
Pro-life groups have pushed Blanche to stop the DOJ’s challenges to state lawsuits seeking to end that policy.
Trump administration announced Head Start overhaul
The Trump administration said Aug. 6 it plans to roll back regulations for Head Start, a federal program providing free education, health and nutrition services to hundreds of thousands of low-income children.
Head Start programs currently serve roughly 700,000 infants, toddlers and pregnant women.
But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials projected their proposed regulation to reduce rules for participation would preserve or expand as many as 236,000 Head Start slots nationwide.
In an Aug. 6 statement, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “Head Start began as a bold commitment to the health, dignity, and potential of every child. My uncle, Sarge Shriver, founded the program on a simple conviction: strong families, wholesome nutrition, and healthy childhood development can change the course of a child’s life.”
“Today, we are returning Head Start to those roots. We are removing unnecessary bureaucracy, strengthening nutrition and physical health, trusting parents and local communities, and opening Head Start to hundreds of thousands more children. That’s how we renew the promise of Head Start for the next generation,” he continued.
But advocates expressed concern the moves would dismantle Head Start by reducing regulations for its education curricula, class sizes and home visits.
“Head Start works because it does far more than provide preschool,” Joel Ryan, executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, said in an Aug. 6 statement. ECEAP stands for Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program.
“It ensures children receive health care, developmental screenings, nutritious meals, disability services, highly qualified teachers, and strong partnerships with families,” Ryan said. “Those aren’t bureaucratic requirements — they are the reason Head Start has changed millions of lives. This proposal would weaken those protections for hundreds of thousands of children and undermine what has made Head Start one of America’s most successful early childhood programs.”
Trump signs executive orders seeking to limit birthright citizenship after Supreme Court loss
Trump signed two executive orders on Aug. 6 aimed at reducing the number of people who are eligible for birthright citizenship and cracking down on what he has described as “birth tourism,” or foreign nationals who give birth in the United States to gain U.S. citizenship for their newborns.
The new executive orders came just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down Trump’s previous executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to immigrants without legal status.
It was not immediately clear if the pair of orders could be enforced. They took a more narrow scope than Trump’s original attempt to change the interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
The first order aims to specify certain categories of those who are ineligible for their children to become U.S. citizens, such as those in terrorist groups or those working in the U.S. for foreign governments, such as ambassadors, the White House said.
The order seeks to curb “birth tourism” by those who conduct “fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”
In June, the Supreme Court found Trump’s original order violated the 14th Amendment.
Senate passes Russia sanctions bill
The Senate on Aug. 7 passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 in an 86-11 vote. The bill would implement sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil and gas amid Russia’s war in Ukraine. The late Graham, who unexpectedly died on July 11, was a key supporter of the legislation, and lawmakers renamed it in his honor after his death.
However, the Senate added to the bill Trump’s request to include tariffs on buyers of Iranian oil.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping tariff policy earlier this year, and he is seeking new avenues to impose tariffs and ways to bring the conflict in Iran to a conclusion. Trump has argued the Iran war, launched by the U.S. and Israel, was necessary to prevent its regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But that conflict has become increasingly unpopular as it enters its sixth month.
Pope Leo XIV has called for peace in Ukraine and condemned the “brutality” of Russia’s invasion. He has also called for an end to the conflict in Iran.
The legislation is expected to be considered by the U.S. House of Representatives after it returns from its August recess.
New Marquette Law School Poll: inflation and cost of living the most important issue for voters before midterms
An Aug. 5 Marquette Law School Poll national survey found “inflation and cost of living” was the most important issue for voters before the midterm elections, with 35% ranking it as their top concern.
Their next top concern was the economy at 15%, and the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States at 10%. Every other issue polled — including health care, immigration and abortion — ranked in the single digits.
The poll found Trump’s overall job approval was 40%, an increase of 2 percentage points since June, but approval of Trump’s work on inflation, the economy, the Iran war, and gas prices are each at 30% or less.
The survey was conducted July 22-29, 2026, of 1,076 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
