Welcome to the new week! I’m starting the week looking at the following topics:

• U.S. Senate Montana 2026
• Todd Blanche
• The August Recess
• Invoking the Fifth
• One More Thing

U.S. SENATE MONTANA 2026:

Today (Monday, August 10) at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline for candidates to withdraw from General Election candidacy. (Source)

Political junkies are watching the U.S. Senate race in Montana to see if Independent candidate Seth Bodnar or Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead drops out. 

The Montana Free Press (MTFP) reported Friday that Independent U.S. Senate candidate Seth Bodnar held a press event in Billings to tell a dozen or so supporters and a gaggle of journalists that he won’t be dropping out of the race. 

Meanwhile, the Daily Montanan reported on Saturday that twenty-two Democratic members of the Montana Legislature are officially asking Alani Bankhead, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate race, to drop out and support the independent in the race, Seth Bodnar. 

If neither candidate drops out, we’ll probably hear the corks pop on some champagne bottles in Republican candidate Kurt Alme’s campaign HQ around 5:01 p.m. Monday. 

TODD BLANCHE:

The U.S. Senate confirmed Todd Blanche to be the next Attorney General of the United States by a vote of 50-49-1. The vote was held at 4:17 a.m. Saturday morning. (Source)

Montana’s two Republican U.S. Senators, Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, voted to confirm Blanche. U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) did not vote.  

If you thought the DOJ was weaponized before, Todd Blanche’s appointment means things are about to get much worse. (Source)

Blanche served as the lead defense attorney for Donald Trump in several high-profile criminal matters, including the Manhattan hush money trial and the federal classified documents case. (Source)

Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana could have derailed the Blanche nomination (at least for a few months) if he had the guts to vote no. Trump endorsed Cassidy’s opponent in the Louisiana Senate race. If I were Cassidy, I would have voted no just to get some payback. (CBS News)

THE AUGUST RECESS:

The U.S. House of Representatives is on its August recess and will return on August 31. (Source)

The U.S. Senate is on its August recess with lawmakers scheduled to officially reconvene on Monday, September 14, 2026. (Source)

The August recess used to be the time when constituents could meet with their elected officials through town halls and other events. Not today. 

Is this a great country or what? 

INVOKING THE FIFTH:

The MAGAs are pretty upset about Dr. Anthony Fauci invoking his Fifth Amendment right during a U.S. Senate hearing.  Sources say that Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during the hearing. 

The MAGAs must have forgotten about Donald Trump invoking the Fifth Amendment a few years ago. Several reports say he invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 440 times during a deposition before lawyers from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in its probe into the Trump Organization’s business practices. (Source)

The bottom line is that there are many more important things the U.S. Senate should be working on instead of attacking Fauci. 

ONE MORE THING:

Someone asked if I had plans for the fall. It took me a moment to realize they meant “autumn,” not the collapse of civilization.

## HAVE A GREAT WEEK ##