Blanche Confirmation Hearing, Iran War And Midterm Politics, Clayton ODNI Hearing

Most senators didn't question Todd Blanche's qualifications to lead the Justice Department at his confirmation hearing, they questioned whether the man who spent years as President Trump's personal lawyer would serve the president or the country. President Trump notified Congress that the U.S. is back at war with Iran, starting a new 60-day clock for military action, though the clock that may matter most is the midterms as gas prices ripple through the economy. And Trump's pick for intelligence chief, Jay Clayton, wouldn't acknowledge the results of the 2020 election at his hearing, leaving Democrats to ask why a man with no intelligence experience won't give a straight answer. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter. Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Anna Yukhananov, Kelsey Snell, Andrew Sussman, Alice Woelfle, and Mohamad ElBardicy. It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange. And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens. (0:00) Introduction (02:35) Blanche Confirmation Hearing (06:30) Iran War And Midterm Politics (10:24) Clayton ODNI Hearing  See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy