With Push From Trump, Senate Moves to Install Contentious Filmmaker at US Media Agency

Senate Republican leaders, under pressure from President Donald Trump to install an ally who would dictate more favorable news coverage of his administration, are moving to swiftly confirm a conservative filmmaker to lead the independent agency in charge of state-funded media outlets. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) has scheduled a committee meeting to advance the long-stalled nomination of Michael Pack, a close ally of Stephen Bannon’s and a favorite of conservative activists, to lead the US Agency for Global Media. The action came after President Trump pressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).