NPR News: 07-15-2026 8AM EDT

Windsor Johnston· Host0:00

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump's nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche, will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee today during the first day of his confirmation hearings. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.

Ryan Lucas0:16

Senators are expected to press Blanche on his record at the Justice Department, including his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the firing of apolitical career department employees, and the targeting of Trump's perceived foes. Republicans and Democrats alike also have questions about Blanche's role in the controversial settlement of Trump's IRS lawsuit, including the creation of a now abandoned anti-weaponization fund. Blanche began the second Trump administration as the number two official at the Justice Department. He became acting attorney general in April after Trump pushed Pam Bondi out of the top job. Blanche has a narrow path to confirmation in the Senate, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

Windsor Johnston· Host0:57

The U.S. military carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran today, targeting military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan is with the Middle East Institute. He tells NPR that economic pressure is mounting on both sides, but Tehran is facing the added strain of a renewed U.S. naval blockade.

Kevin Donegan· Soundbite1:21

Both the U.S. and Iran are going to be looking at the clock, and that clock is an economic clock. For the U.S., it's, you know, price of oil, and for the world, it's price of energy,