{"id":32496,"date":"2026-08-08T13:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32496"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:03:23","slug":"senate-oks-russia-sanctions-bill-bill-cassidy-backs-todd-blanche-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32496","title":{"rendered":"Senate OKs Russia sanctions bill; Bill Cassidy backs Todd Blanche nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/TopThune_072926_AP_ManuelBalceCeneta.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n        <iframe id=\"instaread_iframe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Audio Article\" style=\"display:block\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\"><\/iframe>\n    <\/p>\n<p><\/instaread-player><\/p>\n<p>The Senate is searching for a path to wrap up its to-do list and leave for a month-long recess, but a bipartisan bill to set rules for compensating and recruiting college athletes is <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6017663-senate-nil-bill-funding-blanche-recess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">holding up a broader deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The chamber is trying to find an agreement on quickly passing its top priorities before leaving: a stopgap government funding bill and confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general. The so-called NIL bill, however, has become a \u201cchokepoint,\u201d one senator reportedly said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The stopgap funding bill has found overwhelming bipartisan support on earlier procedural votes.<\/p>\n<p>And Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Friday morning in a Senate floor speech that he will support acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6016630-bill-cassidy-todd-blanche-attorney-general-nomination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">likely allowing his nomination to pass<\/a> the Senate. Cassidy was the final holdout on the nomination.<\/p>\n<p>As the lame duck senator announced his decision, he hesitated, noting he would catch criticism for his decision but assuring his Louisiana constituents that he had thoughtfully considered the vote.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate earlier Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/6012606-senate-russia-iran-sanctions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">overwhelmingly passed a bill<\/a> that will allow for new sanctions on Russia. The legislation, named for its champion, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), passed 86-11.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump on Friday has policy meetings at the White House and a roundtable at the State Department, before heading to Bedminster, N.J.<\/p>\n<p>Follow live here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" async=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js?ver=1.9.5#xfbml=1&#038;version=v2.5\" id=\"facebook-js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate is searching for a path to wrap up its to-do list and leave for a month-long recess, but a bipartisan bill to set rules for compensating and recruiting college athletes is holding up a broader deal. The chamber is trying to find an agreement on quickly passing its top priorities before leaving: a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/TopThune_072926_AP_ManuelBalceCeneta.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}