Senate Passes Interim Spending Bill to Fund Government Through 11 Dec and Confirms Todd Blanche

Todd Blanche’s narrow confirmation and a bipartisan continuing resolution set the stage for a post-midterm budget fight as the Senate heads into recess (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

The U.S. Senate passed an interim spending bill to fund the government through 11 December and confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general in a tense overnight session that wrapped up just before the chamber broke for its August recess.

The twin moves, completed in the early hours of Saturday, 8 August, advanced legislation aimed at averting a government shutdown and installed President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer atop the Justice Department after weeks of internal Republican wrangling.