Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15, 2026, in Washington, DC. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.
Welcome to The Logoff: Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee is in trouble.
What’s happening? Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom Trump nominated for the permanent job last month, was set to receive a committee vote on Thursday on his way to being confirmed. Instead, lawmakers are punting on the vote after multiple key Republican senators expressed concerns — and Trump is now threatening to pull Blanche’s nomination until next year.
Why are senators worried about Blanche? Nearly all of Trump’s nominees — even his most controversial picks, like HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — have been confirmed by the Senate.
But Blanche, who is also Trump’s former personal lawyer, has a track record as acting attorney general, where he’s primarily distinguished himself by his unflinching devotion to Trump’s personal priorities: things like indicting former FBI director James Comey, creating a vast $1.8 billion slush fund to reward Trump’s allies, and immunizing the president and his family from scrutiny by the IRS via an unusual settlement deal.
Not all of those schemes have gone well; the slush fund, for example, went down in flames in June.
The IRS shield, however, is still kicking, and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) — both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee — are pushing Blanche to commit to changes to the settlement before they will support his nomination. So far, that hasn’t happened.
What happens if Blanche’s nomination fails? It’s a black eye for Trump and a sign that the GOP, facing an increasingly dire midterms outlook, is growing less willing to go along with Trump’s increasingly conspicuous corruption. But a defeated vote or a pulled nomination won’t actually end Blanche’s tenure as acting attorney general — since he was previously confirmed by the Senate for the deputy attorney general job, he can likely stay in the acting role as long as Trump wants to keep him there.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
This story from the Atlantic, about a “tourism fixer” in Rome for whom just about any experience is in reach, was a great read (click here for a gift link).
As always, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!
<img src="https://www.mtlblog.com/media-library/canadian-lottery-tickets-illustrative.jpg?id=54991991&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C456%2C0%2C457"/><br/><br/><p>The latest <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/lotto-max-winning-numbers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lotto Max winning numbers</a> for Tuesday, December 3, have been revealed, and if you bought a ticket, you're going to want to check it ASAP.</p><p>Last night's <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/tag/lotto-max" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lotto Max</a> draw was a massive one, with the jackpot reaching the $80 million cap — the largest lottery prize you can score in Canada. </p><p>And guess what? Two lucky ticket holders finally matched all seven numbers, including someone who bought their ticket in Quebec! They'll each walk away with a cool $40 million — not a bad deal for splitting the pot.</p><p>Plus, there were a whopping 30 Maxmillions available in this draw, giving you even more chances to become a millionaire.</p><p>Ready to check your luck? Let's break down the winning Lotto Max numbers and see if luck was on your side.</p><h3>What are the Lotto Max winning numbers for Tuesday, December 3?</h3><br/><p> The Lotto Max winning numbers for Tuesday, December 3, are <strong>09</strong>, <strong>14</strong>, <strong>21</strong>, <strong>26</strong>, <strong>29</strong>, <strong>32</strong> and <strong>41</strong>, with the bonus number <strong>47</strong>.
</p><p> Two lucky players will split the maximum $80 million jackpot, taking home $40 million each. The winning tickets were bought in Quebec and the Prairies, so if you haven't checked your ticket yet, you could be the next millionaire!
</p><p> Plus, two players from Quebec and Ontario matched six numbers plus the bonus, earning them each a second-place prize of $223,612.50.
</p><p> And that's not all! There were nine Maxmillions winners in this draw, one of whom was from Quebec.
</p><p> Here's a look at the 30 winning Maxmillions number combos from this draw:
</p><ul>
<li>01-04-08-28-30-31-41</li>
<li>01-04-29-38-43-44-46</li>
<li>02-08-15-16-17-23-48</li>
<li>02-11-16-17-29-33-43</li>
<li>02-12-13-15-30-43-44</li>
<li>02-12-14-39-40-47-48</li>
<li>02-13-17-19-21-27-47</li>
<li>02-13-21-24-25-29-43</li>
<li>03-05-08-14-17-21-26</li>
<li>03-05-17-28-29-32-49</li>
<li>03-17-22-25-33-36-39</li>
<li>03-20-25-27-34-37-44</li>
<li>06-09-17-23-34-41-49</li>
<li>06-16-19-22-36-37-42</li>
<li>07-09-10-14-16-23-25</li>
<li>07-14-22-31-42-44-50</li>
<li>08-15-16-20-35-45-47</li>
<li>09-14-16-22-26-40-44</li>
<li>09-14-18-22-37-42-49</li>
<li>10-25-28-29-41-44-45</li>
<li>11-12-20-25-41-42-48</li>
<li>11-18-19-21-37-38-48</li>
<li>11-24-26-33-41-44-49</li>
<li>12-17-19-21-34-38-45</li>
<li>12-24-31-34-40-45-48</li>
<li>15-26-33-35-43-45-50</li>
<li>16-17-18-31-37-41-46</li>
<li>16-17-26-33-37-40-42</li>
<li>19-24-29-33-45-48-50</li>
<li>28-29-31-32-34-41-42</li>
</ul><p> Now that the jackpot has been claimed, it'll start over, and the draw on Friday, December 6 will have an estimated $33 million up for grabs. Your last chance to get in on that draw will be at 10:30 p.m. on Friday.
</p><h3>What were the Lotto Max winning numbers for Friday, November 29?</h3><br/><p>For the Lotto Max draw on Friday, November 29, the winning numbers were <strong>06</strong>, <strong>17</strong>, <strong>26</strong>, <strong>29</strong>, <strong>30</strong>, <strong>39</strong> and <strong>49</strong>. The bonus number was<strong> 02</strong>.</p><p>As for Maxmillions, here were the 21 winning numbers:</p><ul><li>01-05-06-19-23-24-45</li><li>01-06-13-35-42-47-49</li><li>01-36-37-38-41-42-43</li><li>02-11-14-21-24-26-50</li><li>03-04-08-09-11-38-50</li><li>03-07-18-19-25-37-39</li><li>03-19-22-31-32-33-47</li><li>04-05-09-11-16-29-32</li><li>04-05-12-28-38-39-45</li><li>04-07-18-27-31-32-41</li><li>05-09-12-25-30-31-33</li><li>05-11-18-19-22-33-42</li><li>05-23-24-26-29-32-48</li><li>06-10-16-18-29-32-44</li><li>07-12-15-21-22-30-41</li><li>07-12-17-24-28-45-48</li><li>08-27-28-34-39-46-49</li><li>10-12-15-30-32-33-37</li><li>11-13-14-15-19-46-48</li><li>11-14-16-17-31-43-45</li><li>15-16-28-29-31-41-49</li></ul><p>The $80 million jackpot went unclaimed, but three lucky players matched six numbers plus the bonus, scoring a hefty $355,128.90 each. Not a bad consolation prize, if you ask us!</p><p>Plus, seven Maxmillions prizes were scooped up during Friday's draw, two of which were from tickets purchased in Quebec. And if that wasn't enough, over 1.5 million other prizes were handed out — ranging from free plays to cash in the thousands. So, if you haven't checked last week's ticket yet, now's the perfect time to see if you're a winner!</p><h3>How does Lotto Max work?</h3><br/><p>Lotto Max is Canada's biggest lottery game, with draws happening every Tuesday and Friday. </p><p>For every $5 ticket, you get three sets of seven numbers ranging from 1 to 50.</p><p>Here's how it works: During each draw, seven main numbers and one bonus number are randomly picked. To win a prize, you need to match at least three numbers. Matching more numbers and/or the bonus can boost your winnings.</p><p>Prizes are divided into categories, and payouts depend on ticket sales. Here's a typical prize breakdown:</p><ul>
<li><strong>7/7 (jackpot)</strong> — average of $47.5 million (but an estimate of that draw's jackpot is shown when you buy your ticket)</li>
<li><strong>6/7 plus bonus</strong> — average of $194,405</li>
<li><strong>6/7</strong> — average of $4,629 </li>
<li><strong>5/7 plus bonus</strong> — average of $926 </li>
<li><strong>5/7</strong> — average of $105 </li>
<li><strong>4/7 plus bonus</strong> — average of $50 </li>
<li><strong>4/7</strong> — $20 fixed prize</li>
<li><strong>3/7 plus bonus</strong> — $20 fixed prize</li>
<li><strong>3/7</strong> — free play </li>
</ul><p>The jackpot starts at $10 million and can climb to a massive $80 million if it isn’t won. Once the jackpot hits $50 million, additional Maxmillions prizes — $1 million each — are added. These are separate draws, and to win one, you need to match all seven numbers on a single line.</p><p>Every set of numbers on your ticket is eligible for both the main draw and any Maxmillions draws, giving you more chances to win. Sales close at 10:30 p.m. ET on draw nights.</p><p>The odds of winning the jackpot are around 1 in 33 million, but your chances of taking home any prize are about 1 in 7.</p><p>Good luck, Montreal!</p><p><em>If you or someone you know is struggling with problem gambling, refer to <a href="https://aidejeu.ca/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">these resources available across Quebec</a>. Help is available.</em></p><p><em>Love this? Check out our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/notices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MTL Blog noticeboard</a> for details on jobs, benefits, travel info and more!</em></p><p><em>AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/editorial-standards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Editorial Standards page</a>.</em></p>
President Muhammadu Buhari has said the federal government will be deploying multi-faceted solutions that will be targeted at addressing human security at the grassroots, before…
On Monday, Harvard University announced it is expanding its financial aid program and offering free tuition to students whose families make $200,000 a year or less.
