Blanche Rescinds 'Anti-Weaponization Fund', Iran Strikes Off, Midwest Primaries

**Steve Inskeep** (0:02)
President Trump is banking off additional attacks on Iran.

**Donald Trump** (0:05)
They said, please don't do it. And other, their neighbors said that, too.

**A Martinez** (0:09)
Negotiations resumed today. How does the US get out of the cycle of attacks followed by stabs at diplomacy?

**Steve Inskeep** (0:14)
I'm Steve Inskeep with A Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump's nominee for Attorney General gave senators a letter they demanded. Todd Blanche finally rescinded in order to create a $1.8 billion fund for Trump's political allies. Is that enough to persuade senators who blocked his nomination?

**A Martinez** (0:34)
Also, how far can progressive candidates make it in the Midwest? Candidates on the left are running in Democratic primaries. Their goal is to shoulder aside more mainstream contenders. Primaries beginning tomorrow will do a lot to shape the midterm elections. Stay with us. We've got news you need to start your day.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:58)
This message comes from Schwab. Self-directed investing. Trading. Full service wealth management. Automated investing. Financial planning. Thematic investing. Retirement planning. And to think, that's just a small taste of what Schwab offers. Because Schwab knows that when it comes to your finances, choice matters. No matter your goals, investing style, life stage or experience, Schwab has everything you need all in one place, so you can invest your way. Visit schwab.com to learn more.
This message comes from Dell Technologies. Get long lasting battery life on the Dell XPS laptop powered by Series 3 Intel Core. Now from $699, with exclusive student pricing from $599.
Visit dell.com/deals.

**Steve Inskeep** (1:47)
President Trump's nominee for Attorney General has finally canceled an order that got him in trouble with some senators.

**A Martinez** (1:54)
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche released a letter last night. He says he's rescinding a plan to create a $1.8 billion fund for President Trump's political allies. Two Republicans have been demanding that action in writing they had been blocking his nomination to hold the job permanently.

**Steve Inskeep** (2:10)
And Piers, Claudia Grisales has been covering the action in the US. Senate. Claudia, good morning.

**Claudia Grisales** (2:14)
Good morning, Steve.

**Steve Inskeep** (2:15)
Okay, so what did the acting Attorney General say in writing this time? And what's it mean for his confirmation?

**Claudia Grisales** (2:22)
Right. This order was issued just a few hours ago. And it does indeed rescind this controversial effort. The administration dubbed the, quote, anti-weaponization fund. This came from a deal that was made with Trump's IRS agency under his administration. And he threatened to revive this fund just this weekend. Two Republican senators, that's Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Tillis of North Carolina would not back off their objections to this fund.
But there's a lot more elements to this deal that were not addressed in that order. The deal with the IRS also included a provision to protect Trump and his family from future tax audits. And that's another very controversial provision for Republicans. So while this order may address a major hurdle that has held this confirmation up on committee, there are plenty of other questions remaining.

**Steve Inskeep** (3:18)
Yeah. And here's another question. I've been reading Blanche's letter that came out overnight. It's mostly in the present tense. He says the fund quote is not moving forward, for example. He doesn't say this fund was bad or inappropriate. He doesn't say what he would do if his boss orders him to revive it next week.
And you just said Trump still spoke in favor of it this past weekend. Are senators persuaded by any of this?

**Claudia Grisales** (3:41)
That's the big question now. This letter may address again those concerns for Cornyn and Tillis, who are on the judiciary committee. But Blanche still faces a lot of concerns that are not clear, making not clear that he has enough support on the Senate floor from Republicans to get that confirmation. And as we know, Republicans are operating with tight margins, so it doesn't take much to derail a vote in that chamber. And while all the focus has been on Cornyn and Tillis because of their roles on this committee, it's a new ball game when we talk about a whole of the Senate Republican Conference. And so we should also note the administration has resisted for weeks to go this far, so this is still a lingering issue for many. And it's just one of several items causing headaches between the administration and Republicans in Congress.

**Steve Inskeep** (4:29)
What's another?

**Claudia Grisales** (4:30)
Well, a big part of this comes back to Trump's push for the Save America Act. That's a GOP bill that would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to cast a ballot. Trump has blamed Senate Majority Leader John Thune for not getting a lot of this done, even if it means getting rid of the filibuster. In this past week, Trump was asked whether he was confident in Thune and he did not give a ringing endorsement.