”While Congress will be back in September, there are private doubts among GOP lawmakers that the Senate will move a plan before Nov. 3, given a pileup of other legislation and a desire to protect vulnerable Senate Republicans from taking tough votes just weeks before the election.”

The latest episode of Trial Balloon is live.

A party that quickly falls in line behind its nominee isn’t showing many signs of civil war.

”A fifth of active registered voters cast a ballot in three Democratic U.S. House primaries held Thursday in Shelby County, which includes Memphis. That’s more than double the turnout percentage for similar contests in 2024.”

“It is called A7. The state-backed payment network moves money in and out of Russia, defying U.S. and European efforts to isolate Moscow from the global banking system. A7 helps Russia pay for everything from military-drone parts to luxury cars to imported fruit, using a mix of cryptocurrency transactions and more-traditional banking methods, researchers say.”

“But in contrast to those earlier years, Americans’ views don’t differ substantially by party today, even as Republicans and Democrats express different concerns about elections.”

“Tehran’s threat highlights the ascendance within the Iranian leadership of hard-liners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who have long sought the ouster of American forces from the region. Though Iran has taken a devastating military beating, its leaders now see an opportunity to use negotiations on ending the six-month war to dislodge the U.S. as the dominant power in the Persian Gulf.”

CNBC: Iran’s chief negotiator accuses Trump of “theater diplomacy” with Hormuz traffic near standstill.

“While they wrapped up many key priorities in the overnight votes, advancing Trump’s SAVE America Act was not among them.”

“Instead, Republican senators who had brought the chamber to a standstill spoke to Trump late in the evening about an alternative plan: They would try again to approve elements of the voting bill as part of a broader GOP budget package to fund the Iran war and replenish the Pentagon when they return to work in September.”

Bloomberg: U.S. Senate passes spending bill that ignores Trump’s priorities.

“Blanche’s appointment is a win for the Trump administration, especially after a journey that saw some Republicans hold out at multiple stages of the process.”

Wall Street Journal: The Senate narrowly confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general, cementing a trusted Trump ally atop the Justice Department.

“With it, she inherited his office on Capitol Hill, his staff in Washington and back home in South Carolina, and his key spots on coveted committees. For a brief time, Ms. Graham was bequeathed her deceased brother’s security detail.”

“But the new Republican senator from South Carolina did not inherit her brother Lindsey’s gift of gab.”

“In the weeks since Ms. Graham came to Washington to fill her brother’s seat and then quickly said she would run to succeed him, she has shied away from the media attention that Mr. Graham so often relished. That has left many unanswered questions about the views and positions of a woman who had never held public office.”

“In a 90 to 6 vote, the Senate approved the measure, which would keep the government funded at current levels with some exceptions for six weeks beyond the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year. It now goes to the House, where lawmakers have pursued a different approach.”

Reuters: U.S. Senate passes short-term funding bill to avert federal shutdown before election.

“Mr. Miller planned to loan his campaign $1 million, according to a person familiar with his thinking who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe campaign strategy, effectively rebuffing calls from powerful Republicans in the state to withdraw from the race.”

“Frank Kendall, who served as President Joe Biden’s Air Force Secretary and in several high-level Pentagon posts during the Obama administration, was quoted in a New York Times article last month that stated that the Air Force One jet gifted to President Trump by the Qatari government lacks the defensive capabilities of the traditional jets that fly the president.”

CNN: Pentagon revokes access to classified information for former Air Force secretary.

“Trump tapped Mullin, a close ally when he served in the Senate, to take over the homeland security post after he fired Kristi Noem in March. At the time, Trump told advisers he had tired of the infighting and drama at the Department of Homeland Security. When Mullin started the job, he told associates his marching orders were to keep the agency out of the news.”

“But a little more than four months into Mullin’s tenure, the president is souring on him, viewing Mullin as weak and off message, the people said.”

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), quoted by Punchbowl News.

“They are among the Republicans who have descended on Southwest Florida in recent years and are now in pursuit of an open House seat there, transforming a deeply red district into a staging ground for comeback stories.”

“The plan is more regime alteration than regime change.”

“The Trump administration has pressed its spy agencies to identify someone in the mold of Delcy Rodríguez, who became Venezuela’s interim president after U.S. forces captured the previous leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January.”

The Guardian: Trump unbound: the making of an imperial presidency.