GOP Digest — July 15, 2026 | Blanche and Clayton Face Senate Hearings as Trump Plans Primetime Elections Address

Washington's morning belongs to the confirmation calendar: President Trump's attorney general nominee and his pick for intelligence chief both go before Senate panels today, while the White House readies a primetime elections address for Thursday night and newly sworn-in Sen. Darline Graham takes her seat for a consequential stretch of votes.

Today's Digest

• [CONFIRMATIONS] — Todd Blanche Faces Senate Judiciary This Morning: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee at 9 a.m. ET for his confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department permanently. Top committee Republican Chuck Grassley calls Blanche "well qualified" and says he has "shown his dedication to restoring law and order across our country," and the National Association of Police Organizations backs the nomination. Democrats appear unified in opposition, leaving the outcome with committee Republicans including Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, who have raised questions about the department's now-shelved anti-weaponization fund.
• [INTEL] — Jay Clayton Testifies to Lead the Intelligence Community: Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee at 9:30 a.m. ET in his confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence. President Trump picked Clayton for the intelligence community's top post last month and formally nominated him on July 1.
• [ELECTIONS] — Trump to Deliver Primetime Elections Address Thursday Night: The president will speak to the nation at 9 p.m. Thursday in an address he says will focus on elections, teasing "really big news" from the Oval Office on Tuesday. Trump has made voting regulation a core second-term priority, demanding legislation to require voter ID and rein in mail-in voting ahead of November's midterms.
• [SOUTH CAROLINA] — Darline Graham Sworn In as South Carolina's First Woman Senator: Darline Graham took the oath Tuesday afternoon from Sen. Chuck Grassley, becoming the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate days after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham. Escorted into the chamber by Sens. Tim Scott and Katie Britt, she will serve through January and arrives with the Blanche confirmation fight ahead in the Senate.
• [AGENDA] — House GOP Drives Reconciliation 3.0 Toward a Thursday Markup: Speaker Mike Johnson is assembling a party-line package with roughly $67 billion for defense, $20 billion for agriculture and farm aid, and elements of the SAVE America Act, with the House Budget Committee set to mark up the package Thursday and leadership planning a House floor vote next week.

On the Record

"It doesn't get bigger, because without free and fair elections, you don't have a country." — President Donald Trump, previewing Thursday's primetime address from the Oval Office