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

Summary

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Up First from NPR

Episode: Blanche Rescinds 'Anti-Weaponization Fund', Iran Strikes Off, Midwest Primaries
Date: August 3, 2026
Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Meghna Chakrabarti

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Episode Overview

In this episode, NPR’s Up First covers three of the day's biggest stories:

1. President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche, rescinds a controversial political fund under Senate pressure.
2. The U.S. steps back from renewed strikes on Iran amid fresh diplomatic overtures and ongoing regional volatility.
3. Progressive Democrats face crucial tests in Midwest primaries, a bellwether for national electoral shifts.

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1. Todd Blanche Rescinds 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'

(Segment begins: 02:01)

• Background: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was under fire for supporting a $1.8 billion fund—dubbed the "Anti-Weaponization Fund"—meant to benefit President Trump’s political allies.
• Recent Developments: Blanche issued a letter late last night, officially rescinding the order creating the fund, which had been blocking his Senate confirmation.
• Senate Dynamics:
  • Blanche’s move came after pressure from Republican Senators John Cornyn (TX) and Thom Tillis (NC), who demanded written confirmation that the fund would be scrapped.
  • Other provisions from the related IRS deal—like measures to protect President Trump and his family from future tax audits—remain controversial.

Insights & Analysis:

• "This order may address a major hurdle...but there are plenty of other questions remaining."
  — Claudia Grisales, 02:35

• The language in Blanche's letter is cautious. Steve Inskeep notes:
  "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."
  — Steve Inskeep, 03:31

• Republican Leadership Friction:

  • Trump's continued push for the "Save America Act," which would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote, is straining relations within the party.
  • Senator John Thune, the majority leader, faces pressure to remove the filibuster and fast-track Trump’s priorities, but he remains firm:
    "He has been consistent that the votes are not there...and they are not going to get rid of the filibuster."
    — Claudia Grisales, 05:08

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2. U.S.-Iran Escalation De-escalates

(Segment begins: 05:34)

• Backdrop: After pledging to "hit them very hard" (Iran), President Trump walked back plans for military strikes upon intervention from U.S. allies.

• Diplomatic Efforts:

  • Trump reports that allies, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and even Iran itself, urged him to halt the attack.
  • "We were all set to go. But when the allies ask to call it off, you got to sort of say, well, let's see. And the reason they asked is they think there's a deal."
    — Donald Trump, 06:41
  • The outlines of a new deal—focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and curbing Iran’s nuclear program—were reportedly agreed upon, though Iran has yet to confirm any progress.

• Regional and Economic Fallout:

  • The cycle of threats, strikes, and negotiations continues:
    "Trump threatens strikes, pulls back, saying a diplomatic solution has been reached. Rinse and repeat."
    — Adil Al Shalchi, 07:09
  • Iran remains defiant and maintains the capacity to retaliate, targeting U.S. bases and infrastructure in the Gulf.
  • Houthis in Yemen, allied with Iran, have blockaded Saudi shipping lanes, and Iranian strikes have targeted oil tankers near the Suez Canal.
  • The uncertainty rattles oil markets:
    • Oil prices fell 8% after Trump called off strikes.
      "The price of Brent crude…fell 8% to about $83 per barrel yesterday."
      — Adil Al Shalchi, 08:47

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3. Progressive Surge in Midwest Democratic Primaries

(Segment begins: 09:25)

• Political Context:

  • Far-left (progressive) candidates have won primaries in strong Democratic districts, but their viability in swing states is now being tested—starting in Michigan.

• Michigan Senate Primary:

  • The race contrasts a populist progressive (Abdul El Sayed) against a Democratic establishment figure (Rep. Haley Stevens).
  • Polls show El Sayed in the lead, but Stevens is seen as stronger in the general election.
  • "Democrats have been wrestling with this question since 2016: who can win, a populist progressive or a moderate favored by the establishment?"
    — Tamara Keith, 09:50

• The Stakes:

  • Progressives argue the party must take risks:
    “People are not interested in going along to get along in a time like this. We've seen that fail time and time again.”
    — William Lawrence, quoted by Meghna Chakrabarti, 11:13-11:19
  • Establishment Democrats see progressive nominees as potential general election liabilities, while insurgents argue moderation is a losing strategy.

• Implications:

  • The outcomes could reshape Democratic thinking about what counts as "electable": "If a progressive populist...prevail[s] in a general election in a swing state, that could change the way Democratic primary voters think about electability."
    — Tamara Keith, 12:19
  • Wisconsin’s upcoming gubernatorial primary with progressive Francesca Hong is another national test.
  • “What happens in November could really determine the direction of the Democratic Party.”
    — Liz Smith, Democratic strategist, 12:18

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4. Republican Rhetoric: Accusations of Communism

(Segment begins: 13:00)

• Narrative Shift:
  • Prominent Republicans voice alarm about "communism" in Democratic ranks as a central theme for the midterms.
  • "We’re not arguing over marginal tax rates anymore. We’re arguing over whether or not freedom is going to survive."
    — Donald Trump, 13:12
  • "All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody that's going to destroy our country."
    — Donald Trump recalling his 2024 campaign strategy, 13:23

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On the Anti-Weaponization Fund:
  "This order may address a major hurdle...but there are plenty of other questions remaining."
  — Claudia Grisales, 02:35

• On Iran:
  "We were all set to go. But when the allies ask to call it off, you got to sort of say, well, let's see."
  — Donald Trump, 06:41

• On Progressive Primaries:
  “People are not interested in going along to get along in a time like this. We've seen that fail time and time again.”
  — William Lawrence, 11:13-11:19 (quoted by Meghna Chakrabarti)

• On Party Direction:
  "If a progressive populist is able to prevail in a general election in a swing state, that could change the way Democratic primary voters think about electability."
  — Tamara Keith, 12:19

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Key Timestamps

• 02:01 — Todd Blanche’s controversial fund rescinded; Senate politics
• 05:34 — Trump backs off Iran strikes; diplomatic developments
• 08:47 — Impact on oil markets, regional escalations
• 09:25 — Progressive vs. moderate Democrats in Midwest primaries
• 11:13 — Voter frustrations, progressive campaign statements
• 12:18 — The stakes for the Democratic party’s future direction
• 13:00 — Republican midterm messaging: “communism” accusation strategy

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Conclusion

This episode encapsulates a tense political moment: executive branch controversy over money and partisan loyalty, U.S. foreign policy on a knife's edge in the Middle East, and a Democratic infighting that could reshape the party’s national identity. All the while, Republicans are sharpening ideological attacks as the midterms approach. For listeners, this is an essential snapshot of the nation’s biggest debates and divides heading into a consequential election season.

Transcript

[Steve Inskeep]

President Trump is backing off additional attacks on Iran.

[Donald Trump]

They said please don't do it. And their neighbors said that, too.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

Negotiations resume today. How does the US get out of the cycle of attacks followed by stabs at diplomacy?

[Steve Inskeep]

I'm Steve Inskeep with Amartenas. 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 an order to create a $1.8 billion fund for Trump's political that enough to persuade senators who blocked his nomination.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

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 election. Stay with us. We've got news you need to start your day.

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[Steve Inskeep]

President Trump's nominee for attorney general has finally canceled an order that got him in trouble with some senators.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

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, been blocking his nomination to hold a job permanently.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Claudia Grisales has been covering the action in the U.S. senate. Claudia, good morning.

[Claudia Grisales]

Good morning, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, so what did the acting attorney general say in writing this time? And what's it mean for his confirmation?

[Claudia Grisales]

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 if two Republican senators, that's Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom 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]

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]

That's the big question. Now, this letter may address, again, those concerns for Corden Antilles, who were 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 Antilles because of their roles on this committee, it's a new ballgame when we talk about a whole of the Senate 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 Republicans in Congress.

[Steve Inskeep]

What's another?

[Claudia Grisales]

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.

[Steve Inskeep]

How's Thune responding to that pressure?

[Claudia Grisales]

Well, he is not exactly taking his lumps and going home. He's been consistent that the votes are not there to pass the Save America act and they are not going to get rid of the filibuster. Trump has wanted them to stay in for the month of August, but Thune has said that would not be productive either.

[Steve Inskeep]

Claudia Grizales, thanks so much.

[Claudia Grisales]

Thank you.

[Steve Inskeep]

President Trump once more backed out of threats to unleash strikes on Iran.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

On Wednesday, he said the U.S. would be, quote, hitting them very hard. Saturday night he called the strikes off. The U.S. has been in a cycle of Iranian attacks, U.S. strikes, U.S. threats and quick stabs at negotiation.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Adil Al Shalchi has been covering all of this from Istanbul. Welcome to.

[Adil Al Shalchi]

Thank you.

[Steve Inskeep]

Why did the president say he canceled his strikes?

[Adil Al Shalchi]

Well, President Trump said that his allies, including Saudi Arabia, had talked him out of a series of renewed attacks. Yesterday, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he'd call Trump by phone and that he, quote, affirmed the necessity of prioritizing the language of dialogue to reduce escalation. Of course, Saudi Arabia was at the receiving end as Iran targeted US Bases in the Gulf and Jordan in response to US Strikes. In March, a US Service member was killed by an Iran Iranian strike on a base in Saudi Arabia. And then on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote that the, quote, perimeters of a deal were reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end Iran's nuclear capabilities. Here's Trump speaking to reporters Sunday evening on Air Force One.

[Donald Trump]

I was asked to by Saudi Arabia, by UAE and by Qatar and by Iran. We were all set to go. It's about at this time right now. And it would have been a massive attack. We're all set to go. But when the allies ask to call it off, you got to sort of say, well, let's see. And the reason they asked is they think there's a deal.

[Adil Al Shalchi]

Yeah. So he said that they were close to a deal and that talks will, in fact start today. But Iran didn't confirm this yet. We're yet to hear about what the potential deal could look like, what those perimeters are. We haven't heard from the Iranians about the deal. We do know that over the weekend, Iran's foreign minister had a whole series of phone calls with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Mediator Pakistan. He also told them that Iran will strike if it is attacked again. And like you mentioned, this has become a cyclical pattern. Trump threatens strikes, pulls back, saying diplomatic solution has been reached. Rinse and repeat. He's done it several times since a deal with Iran was struck initially in April.

[Steve Inskeep]

And I'm just noticing what feels like a contradiction now, Hadil, if he's saying we're close to a deal and talks will start today, that implies maybe there's a little more work to do than the president would have said, just judging by his own words. And the president keeps encountering an Iran that is more defiant than he would like.

[Adil Al Shalchi]

Absolutely. I mean, Trump and his secretary of defense, Pete Hexseth, have repeatedly said that the US has delivered blows to Iran's military capabilities, that they've completely destroyed them. But every time the US Strikes, Iran is able to respond and they're targeting these US Installations in the Gulf and Jordan and making damage. And so we've seen also this war widen. Yemen's Iranian backed Houthis have also gotten involved. They imposed a blockade on Saudi ships in the Bab El Mandab Strait, which is a choke point and connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. And then last week, Iran attacked two gas tankers, one belonging to the US Near Egypt's Suez Canal.

[Steve Inskeep]

I noticed that each Iranian attack and each US Head fake seems to move oil markets.

[Adil Al Shalchi]

I mean, yesterday oil prices plummeted after the Trump announcement that he'd hold off on those strikes. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, fell 8% to about $83 per barrel yesterday. The price of oil has been, of course, like you said, has been on a roller coaster since the war started at the end of February, hitting over $100 a barrel many times. And earlier in the day, OPEC approved an increase of oil production to about 188,000 barrels a day.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPRC at El Chauchi, thanks so much.

[Adil Al Shalchi]

You're welcome.

[Steve Inskeep]

Far left challengers have won Democratic primaries this year in some deep blue congressional districts from New York to Colorado.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

Progressive politics is about to undergo its biggest test yet in Midwestern swing states and competitive districts that could decide control of Congress.

[Steve Inskeep]

The first of these primaries comes tomorrow in Michigan, and NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith is covering everything. Tamara, good morning.

[Tamara Keith]

Good morning.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, U.S. senate primary in Michigan. Why so much focus there?

[Tamara Keith]

It's a true swing state, and Democrats really need to hang on to that seat currently held by a retiring Democrat if they want a chance of gaining control of the Senate. The primary matchup really reflects something Democrats have been wrestling with at least since 2016. Who can win a populist progressive or a moderate favored by the Democratic establishment? In this case, polls show former public health official Abdul El Sayed in the lead for the primary. His campaign is very much anti establishment. And the other candidate is Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens. Recent polls have shown her with a better chance of winning in November.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, that's interesting. But I also know there is this progressive tradition in the Midwest, Tam, going way back. The region is more diverse than it seems. Lots of different kinds of people, lots of different kinds of thought. But what do Democrats think right now about a progressive's chances in Michigan?

[Tamara Keith]

Right. Just because a state is purple, it doesn't mean that its partisans are moderate. The issue is swing voters. Establishment Democrats say nominating El Sayed is too much of a risk because some of the positions that he's taken could be painted as extreme. But those in the insurgent wing of the party say playing it safe is the real electability problem. William Lawrence is running to shake things up in Michigan's 7th congressional district.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

People are not interested in going along

[Steve Inskeep]

to get along in a time like this.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

We've seen that fail time and time again.

[Steve Inskeep]

Okay, what message do you think voters are sending?

[Tamara Keith]

Well, primary election voters are only a small, motivated subset of those who will vote in November, but the message is unmistakable. Voters are angry and incumbents are facing a lot of opposition. Liz Smith is a Democratic consultant who has worked with candidates in Michigan, and she says voters appear willing to take a risk on candidates whose public statements and policy positions could be seen as a general election liability. It seems like that is a trade off that Democratic primary voters in places like Michigan are willing to accept. Is that surprising to you? No, because when people are angry, sometimes they go with their heart over their head. And the reality is that none of us know how it's going to play out in November. But what happens in November could really determine the direction of the Democratic Party.

[Steve Inskeep]

How so?

[Tamara Keith]

You know, the party's trying to figure out what it stands for and not just who it's against, namely, Trump. If a progressive populist is able to prevail in a general election in a swing state, that could change the way Democratic primary voters think about electability. In Wisconsin, which has its primary next week, Francesca Hong is dominating in the polls in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. She's aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. So this race is another swing state test for the left. A loss in Wisconsin or Michigan could deal a significant blow to that wing of the party.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR's Tamara Keith. Always a pleasure to hear from you.

[Tamara Keith]

Always good to be on. Thank you.

[Steve Inskeep]

We're also following this story. In recent weeks, prominent Republicans have been sounding an alarm.

[Tamara Keith]

This is not a game. This is not our father's Democrat Party.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

We're not arguing over marginal tax rates anymore. We're arguing over whether or not freedom

[Donald Trump]

is going to survive.

[Steve Inskeep]

Their concern is communism coming to America.

[Tamara Keith]

Let's call it what it is. It's communism.

[Steve Inskeep]

Back in 2024, President Trump outlined the thought behind this strategy.

[Donald Trump]

All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody that's going to destroy our country.

[Steve Inskeep]

This week on the Sunday how Republicans are using the accusation of communism ahead of the midterm elections. Listen to the Sunday story right here on the up first podcast. And that's up for us for this Monday, August 3rd. I'm Steve Inscape.

[Meghna Chakrabarti]

And I'm Me Martinez. Today's episode of Up first was edited by Tina Kraia, Jason Breslow, Megan Pratts, Arzu Rezvani and Lindsay Totty was produced by Ziad Buch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Hyness. Our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

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[Tamara Keith]

Tom Holland are back in Brand New Day, and the movie has a more grounded tone than we've seen from the franchise, but does it strike the right balance of fun and darkness? We'll talk about it on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Listen via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.