Senators are racing the clock to make a dent in both the government funding process and President Donald Trump’s backlog of nominees before heading home for August recess.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is hoping to get the first appropriations package through the chamber by the end of this week, with lawmakers on the hook for landing a deal to avoid a shutdown come Sept. 30. To that end, GOP leaders are negotiating with members of their conference over a “minibus” of three bills that would, collectively, fund the departments of Commerce, Justice, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, as well as key military construction projects and the FDA. Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) opposition to including legislation that would fund congressional operations will likely force leadership to postpone debating a fourth bill at this time.
The pending package will require senators to run out two 30-hour debate clocks; the ability to move faster will require buy-in from all 100 senators. It will also take time for lawmakers of both parties to agree on amendments and then hold votes, and Democrats are still deliberating their strategy, according to a person granted anonymity to share private negotiations. Republican leadership still believes it can pass the mini-bus before leaving town, according to a second person granted anonymity to discuss the plans. But one potential fallback option, according to two people granted anonymity, could be for the Senate to schedule a final passage vote before they leave town for the first week back in September.
Senate Republicans are also under pressure from Trump to confirm more of his nominees before heading home for recess. Thune has warned his members to prepare to vote at least through this weekend after the president urged senators to stay in Washington through August to wrap up the work, though many lawmakers aren’t pleased with that idea. They’re eager, instead, to get back to their home states, especially as they look to counter Democratic messaging against the freshly passed GOP megabill.
Other Senate Republicans say they’re ready to give Trump what he’s after. Over the weekend, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) repeatedly urged his colleagues to either work through August to advance nominations or cancel all pro-forma sessions over the next month to allow Trump to make recess appointments. “The Senate can’t have it both ways,” Lee said in a post on X.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley also said he’s on board with the president’s call for the Senate to stick around to vote on nominations through August, writing on X, “Trump needs his administration in place.”
Republicans have typically been unenthused by the idea of recess appointments, though, and it’s unlikely they’d go along with that plan. And while Thune is threatening to keep the Senate in session deeper into August, many lawmakers view it as just that: a threat to get Democrats to cut a deal on nominations to get out of town.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’re going keep the pressure on the Democrats to, you know, stay here until either they cooperate or we’re just going to grind it out and do it the old fashioned way,” Thune told POLITICO.
What else we’re watching:
— What lawmakers do about Gaza: As the U.S. pulls out of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, GOP leaders say Hamas’ inability to cooperate is damaging any hopes of progress in the region. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, are sending dire warnings to Israel — and telling Trump his administration needs to take urgent action.
— Johnson’s Epstein headache persists: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are determined to finish collecting the 218 necessary signatures to force a floor vote compelling the release of more Jeffrey Epstein files. Their bill will be eligible for a floor vote upon the House’s return in September.
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