Carrying on. The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham left Washington stunned, saddened and with a void that won’t be easily filled.

The 71-year-old Mr. Graham succumbed to an aortic dissection at his Capitol Hill home on Saturday night shortly after returning from a trip to Ukraine, where he announced a deal with Mr. Trump on a Russia sanctions bill meant to stop the flow of revenue used by President Vladimir Putin to fund his war on Ukraine.

Back in Washington, Mr. Graham, a close adviser to the president who chaired the Senate Budget Committee, was about to spearhead efforts to pass a key Pentagon spending bill that would include provisions of a voter ID measure that has become Mr. Trump’s top legislative priority.

Mr. Graham was also expected to play an important role in shepherding through the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate Mr. Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche.

Mr. Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was sworn in Wednesday to complete the remaining five months of Mr. Graham’s fourth term while the Palmetto State plans a speedy Republican primary to replace Mr. Graham on the November ballot.

Lawmakers in both parties are calling for swift passage of Mr. Graham’s sanctions bill, which would impose heavy tariffs on nations that purchase oil from Russia.

President Trump’s nominees to key posts were in the Senate this week facing a grilling from lawmakers.

Mr. Blanche, now serving as acting attorney general, tried to placate senators who remain fixated on the Epstein files and ensuring Jeffrey Epstein’s dozens of sex trafficking victims receive justice.

Mr. Blanche, who took the lead in handling the files for the Department of Justice, acknowledged that some of the 3 million documents released failed to shield the names of victims.

“I take responsibility,” Mr. Blanche said.

The wide-ranging questions at the hearing led Mr. Blanche to talk about his support for the prosecution of rioters who assaulted police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the performance of FBI Director Kash Patel and whether he believed Mr. Trump would be eligible for a constitutionally prohibited third term.

“I don’t believe he is,” Mr. Blanche said.

In a separate hearing, senators questioned Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton about the 2020 election claim by Mr. Trump that irregularities and fraud gave President Joseph R. Biden his narrow win.

Mr. Clayton, who currently serves as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, acknowledged that Mr. Biden was certified as president but would not say directly that he won. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Georgia Democrat, called Mr. Clayton’s response “disqualifying.”

Both Mr. Blanche and Mr. Clayton are likely headed to party-line confirmation votes in committee and on the Senate floor later this month.

Across the Capitol, House lawmakers got the Pentagon spending and voter ID bill moving. Republican leaders announced the blueprint for a plan that would incorporate voter ID requirements with $95 billion in defense spending. A floor vote is planned for next week.

Back to bombing. The president’s agenda this week was dominated again by the war in Iran and the embattled Strait of Hormuz after a June ceasefire crumbled.

The fighting is on the verge of escalating. Iran warned the U.S. on Thursday that it would reduce Persian Gulf region buildings to “rubble” if American forces attack its domestic infrastructure.

At the same time, Mr. Trump notched a win: Iran released U.S.-Iranian dual citizen Dena Karari, detained in Iran since 2024, in a goodwill gesture.

The president reversed plans to charge 20% tolls on commercial ships using the strait, announcing this week that the waterway is open to all vessels excluding those from Iran and that U.S. Central Command will resume a naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

Mr. Trump met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to announce “a new era” between the two nations in which American oil companies will replace the U.S. military presence in the previously war-torn nation.

Mr. Trump signaled he’s not at all letting up on his tariff strategy. The administration announced it will impose a 25% levy on goods from Brazil, citing unfair trade practices involving U.S. tech companies, ethanol products and “illegal deforestation” that hurts the U.S. timber industry.

Chilling. A pair of Supreme Court justices made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill this week to appeal to lawmakers for more security funding. Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett cited increased threats to their safety that have them fearing for their lives and bringing home bulletproof vests as they rule on issues that have divided the public.

To nobody’s surprise, lawmakers strayed off the subject of safety and questioned the pair about other court matters, including a code of conduct for justices and the mysterious “shadow” docket of cases rushed to speedy decisions.

A federal judge on Monday struck another blow to the president’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled the taxpayer-funded, $1.8 billion settlement reached between the Justice Department and Mr. Trump over his leaked taxes “had no viable basis in law or fact.” Mr. Blanche had already pledged to scrap the fund.

Conservation? The Interior Department is paying people to shoot and kill barred owls, a move they say is needed to save endangered spotted owls.

The Washington Times Editorial Board memorializes Mr. Graham.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is getting his “political revolution” a decade after losing the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton, argues Commentary Editor Kelly Sadler.

Independents, who make up about 40% of voters, are frustrated as the two major parties move away from the center, Joseph Curl writes.