Trump’s former lawyer advances in attorney general bid after deal with Republican holdouts

US senators voted along party lines on Tuesday to advance US President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer as attorney general after he formally scrapped a controversial US$1.8 billion fund created through the administration’s settlement of a lawsuit brought by the president. Todd Blanche, who became deputy attorney general after Trump took office, has been serving as acting attorney general since his predecessor, Pam Bondi, resigned in April. The closely scrutinised Senate Judiciary…