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A bruising week in Washington brought a new attorney general, a disappointing jobs report, and a series of decisions that could reshape government, media, and public health. We break down the biggest developments, why they mattered, and the policy battles that will define the weeks ahead.

The Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as attorney general early Saturday on a 50-49 vote. Republicans Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joined every Democrat in opposition.

Blanche, once Trump's personal defense lawyer, now runs a Justice Department of more than 100,000 people. Senators who backed him cited his written pledge to rescind a $1.8 billion settlement fund tied to Trump's IRS dispute.

American employers shed 23,000 jobs in July, and revisions erased much of the spring's reported gains. Restaurants, retailers and local governments accounted for the deepest losses.

Unemployment slipped to 4.1%, but only because more than 260,000 people left the workforce entirely. Wages rose 3.2% over the year, trailing energy costs and dragging worker confidence to a record low.

The Justice Department asked a judge to erase six seditious conspiracy convictions its own prosecutors won. Judge Amit Mehta granted the request Tuesday and made clear he did so reluctantly.

Mehta wrote that the move "diminishes the gravity of that day" and denigrated the lawyers who tried the case. Stewart Rhodes and five Oath Keepers now carry no conviction for plotting to stop the transfer of power.

Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic primary for Senate, narrowly beating four-term Rep. Haley Stevens. Groups backing Stevens outspent his campaign several times over on advertising.

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former Detroit health director, ran on Medicare for All and curbing corporate money. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for him, and he faces Republican Mike Rogers in November.

The Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC on Wednesday by a 51-44 vote. Schwartz stepped into an agency fighting measles, a foodborne parasite and Ebola abroad.

A retired rear admiral, she ran Covid testing sites as deputy surgeon general in Trump's first term. Senator Bill Cassidy pressed her on resisting political pressure over vaccine policy, then voted yes.

Health officials proposed scrapping federal standards for Head Start, including teacher qualifications, staffing ratios and background checks. A 60-day comment period is now open, and the rewrite could reach 700,000 children within a year.

The FCC voted along party lines to repeal the 39% cap on national broadcast TV ownership. Nexstar's $6.2 billion bid for Tegna remains frozen in court, and press-freedom groups have promised challenges.

Candidates in both parties spent the week campaigning against data centers, an issue 70% of Americans now oppose locally. Governor's races in Ohio and Wisconsin will test whether that backlash actually moves votes in November.

This was a week of institutions being reshaped. The Senate confirmed a new attorney general and CDC director, the Justice Department moved to erase some of its own highest-profile Jan. 6 convictions, and regulators opened the door to a new era of media consolidation.

In Michigan, Democratic voters rejected the party establishment in one of the year's most important primaries, while a weak jobs report added fresh uncertainty to the economic outlook.

The next phase is where these decisions become tangible. Head Start reforms, broadcast mergers, and growing fights over data centers will move from policy debates to real-world consequences for families, businesses, and local communities.

As the midterms draw closer, the biggest stories may be less about campaign messaging than about how government agencies, courts, and regulators exercise their power—and how voters respond when those decisions begin affecting daily life.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team