NPR News: 07-15-2026 4PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Members of the U.S. Senate are weighing whether to advance the nominations of three of President Trump's nominees: Dr. Erica Schwartz to head up the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jay Clayton to lead the nation's intelligence agencies, and Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general who's trying to turn his job as the interim leader of the Justice Department into a permanent one. As NPR's Carrie Johnson reports, Blanche previously helped defend President Trump in several high-profile criminal cases.

Carrie Johnson0:33

Few senators question Todd Blanche's qualifications to lead the Justice Department. He served as a prosecutor in New York for years. But it's his work as a personal defense lawyer for President Trump that worries Democrats. They say Blanche lacks independence and is carrying out vendettas against the president's foes. Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, asked Blanche whether he was Trump's friend. The nominee replied, "I'm his lawyer," before quickly adding, "I was his lawyer." Blanche famously said in April that he loves the president, and working for him was, quote, "the honor of a lifetime." Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

Lakshmi Singh· Host1:17

Delegations from sixty-five countries are expected to be at the State Department tomorrow for a conference on the rise of political terrorism. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports the Trump administration is