Senate Republicans are facing a put up or shut up moment to move ahead with a party-line bill this week.
Those who want to advance a budget blueprint now will use Tuesday’s GOP closed-door lunch as a last-ditch effort to rally their colleagues behind what’s guaranteed to be a politically heavy lift. But prospects are waning with each passing hour, as lawmakers face a slew of other priorities, including plotting the path for a stopgap funding patch.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday it’s possible members stay through the weekend or return next week to knock out lingering tasks, delaying the start of a five-week recess.
“It looks to me at least like there’s a good possibility that it’ll take us more than Thursday or Friday to get through the things we have to get through,” he told reporters.
Budget Republicans are meeting separately Tuesday morning to talk about advancing a framework in the Senate, but Chair Ron Johnson declined to say Monday whether he would release a budget resolution this week — a necessary step for the chamber to make any movement forward.
Johnson said he’s “working with leadership,” who he acknowledges has been prioritizing government funding.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy told reporters Monday he didn’t expect any budget resolutions on the floor this week because “I don’t think my leadership wants to do it.”
“As I’ve said before, you got to have the votes to get on it,” Thune said Monday, while stopping short of nixing the possibility of a vote this week.
Thune also may need to deal with GOP hard-liners demanding votes on the SAVE America Act as frustration percolates over whether the budget measure’s election provisions comply with Senate rules for the reconciliation process.
Sen. Roger Marshall joined Sen. Mike Lee Monday in saying the chamber shouldn’t depart without passing the elections bill, and Marshall said he’d be willing to object to adjourning the chamber over it.
What else we’re watching:
— BLANCHE HAS MORE REPUBLICANS TO CONVINCE: Todd Blanche’s prospects for confirmation as attorney general were much improved Monday — but he’s not in the clear yet. The acting attorney general secured votes from the previously reluctant Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis over the weekend, all but certainly giving him the votes he needs to advance out of Judiciary Tuesday morning. But he still needs to get through the full Senate, where he can only lose two Republican votes given likely unified opposition from Senate Democrats and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.
— GOP SENATORS BREAK SILENCE ON MILLER: Multiple Senate Republicans are calling for Rep. Max Miller to step down from office amid domestic abuse allegations. The outcry comes after Sen. Bernie Moreno — father of Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno — said in a statement Sunday Miller should not serve in the House. Miller has denied the allegations. The surge of support from Moreno’s colleagues marks the first significant crack in a wall of GOP silence regarding the claims. Miller has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot and allow a crash primary to select a replacement.
Jordain Carney, Chris Marquette, Riley Rogerson and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
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