Todd Blanche, who used to be President Trump's personal lawyer, is asking the Senate to approve him as the nation's top law enforcement officer — the attorney general. Right now, Blanche is filling that job temporarily. On July 15, he sits before the Senate Judiciary Committee to make his case for keeping the job permanently.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is split almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Here's what that means: All the Democrats will likely vote against Blanche. But if even one Republican votes no, his nomination dies in committee — it never goes to a vote by the entire Senate. That makes this hearing the real test.

The committee scheduled two days of questioning: July 15 and July 16. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who leads the committee, already met with Blanche and publicly said he did. That kind of meeting is normal, but it also sends a signal to other Republicans about whether they should support him.

While Blanche has been running the Justice Department, Democrats have been asking for information. Back in January 2025, they said the Justice Department was ignoring their questions. In July 2026, they sent another letter asking the same questions. On the hearing days, Democrats will probably focus on these unanswered requests rather than attacking his overall background.

Conservative legal experts have publicly backed Blanche. The day before the hearing, a Fox News opinion piece urged the Senate to confirm him. This kind of timed support is standard in Washington — a signal to Republicans on the fence about which way their allies want them to vote.

Why this matters: In recent years, the Justice Department has often been run by "acting" officials — people filling the job without Senate approval. Blanche's hearing will show whether the Senate still cares about requiring permanent, approved leaders at the top of major government departments. When a committee is this closely divided, the hearing — not a later Senate floor vote — is where the decision really gets made.

In other news, former President Joe Biden's memoir is coming out on November 17, 2026. That's about two weeks after the midterm elections. The publisher, Little, Brown and Company, announced the title: "Promise Me, America." The Associated Press was the first to report it.

Publishers typically pick release dates carefully. Releasing a book after elections avoids competing with all the campaign news, but it still gets the book into stores before the busy holiday shopping season — the time when most books sell. This is a strategy publishers use whether they're publishing books by Democrats, Republicans, or anyone else.