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Welcome to this week’s edition of the Surge, which is happy to report that it has nothing to say about any insecure men who might commandeer national airwaves on a Thursday night to spread conspiratorial nonsense.

The politics were hot and heavy this week. Lindsey Graham is no longer with us, but his signature legislation of this Congress has never been more alive. House Democrats went on the record against the Israeli government in a way they never have before. We check in on the Michigan and Maine Senate races, and consider the nature of time.

Let’s begin, though, with a pair of major confirmation hearings in the Senate this week.

1. Todd Blanche and Jay Clayton

Skating by on the doctrine of “it could be someone worse.”

The Senate held two critical confirmation hearings on the same day this week. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before the Judiciary Committee to secure the gig officially, while Jay Clayton appeared before the Intelligence Committee in his bid to be director of national intelligence. Let’s review what we have in these two.

Blanche, in taking a brief break from his efforts to lock up President Donald Trump’s political appointments, recently oversaw the phony settlement of a phony case that raided the Treasury for $1.8 billion to disburse to goons who participated in Jan. 6 (while also giving Trump and his family immunity from any IRS investigation). It was one of the biggest scandals of either Trump term, and the only consequence Blanche faced was a promotion. In his hearing, Blanche said he “is” Trump’s lawyer, before catching himself to say he “was” Trump’s lawyer. No correction was needed.

Clayton—Trump’s U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York—just last weekend subpoenaed New York Times journalists who had reported on security concerns with Trump’s fresh new Air Force One gifted from the Qataris. He humiliated himself in his confirmation hearing on a question that Trump appointees frequently stumble over: Who won the 2020 election? He wouldn’t give a direct answer to numerous Democrats who asked the question.

And yet the nomination of neither appears to be in major doubt. Maybe commitments need to be made to a Thom Tillis here, a John Cornyn there. But they’re both likely to get through. Why? Due to fear of the alternative. Consider the argument from former Trump AG William Barr, who Trump now hates, urging senators to confirm Blanche. Rejecting Blanche “wouldn’t force the president to make a better choice,” Barr wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “It will simply invite more chaos and a less desirable appointment.” And the nomination of Clayton, similarly, should get through because Republicans and Democrats want the acting director, Bill Pulte, out of there. This is all it takes to win Senate appointment in........

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