Last Minute Legislation: The Senate Sets Up a Friday Grand Finale

Thank God it’s Friday. While that may be what’s on many lawmakers’ minds today, the Senate has quite a long to-do list left before they gavel out for August break. They certainly didn’t accomplish much on Thursday. But are those vacation-ready senators getting ahead of themselves? While leaving today and not coming back until September 14 is the plan, President Donald Trump has other ideas – and he isn’t alone. Will legislators get their five weeks of rest before the midterms? That may all depend on how much is finally accomplished today.

Much Ado About Nothing in the Senate

Thursday saw a long session full of debate and … well, not much else. Yes, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and referred him to the DOJ for prosecution, but the full chamber didn’t accomplish anything so flashy.

Rather, they worked on several other major line items on the agenda and set them up, potentially, for a slew of big Friday votes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed a motion to invoke cloture on the legislative vehicle for the continuing resolution, a necessary procedural step to set up the final vote and avoid a filibuster. The cloture vote is scheduled to “ripen” Friday morning, so it’ll likely be one of the first things the chamber addresses today. But it also puts off any final action until what is supposed to be the Senate’s last day in session for more than a month.

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Then there’s the Todd Blanche confirmation vote. That was put off for today, as well – and now it looks like it may fall through completely. Thune also filed a cloture motion on Blanche’s nomination to limit debate and force a final Friday vote. As of Thursday night, Blanche’s chances seemed slim. All Democrats are on the record against him, and Republican Susan Collins of Maine has also publicly declared her opposition.

That didn’t leave Blanche with much wiggle room, and what room he had evaporated Friday morning when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced she was also a no vote. Now it all hinges on the single remaining undeclared senator, Bill Cassidy (R-LA). If he says no, Blanche fails 49-51. If he says yes, it’s a 50-50 tie that Vice President JD Vance can break.

The Senate was also prepared to vote on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, but failed to pass it yesterday. So that’s yet another vote scheduled for today. As well, lawmakers “resumed consideration” of a 74-nomination “en bloc” confirmation vote, which is now also scheduled for Friday morning.

Funding, sanctions, Blanche, and a slew of other confirmations now all hang in the balance on the final day of the legislative calendar this month. To say time is running short is an understatement.

Should They Stay or Should They Go Now?

President Trump and nearly two dozen GOP senators are calling for the annual August break to be delayed – but it isn’t all about government funding, Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, or Russian sanctions.

Since Wednesday, there has been a renewed push by the president and many senators to pass some version of the SAVE America Act, despite Thune’s insistence that there’s no possible path to a filibuster-proof 60 votes. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) thinks the Senate will eventually take up the $95 billion House-passed budget resolution by reconciliation. That will require almost every Republican to succeed – but it would also establish a “grant fund” that would be used to pay states for passing their own SAVE Act legislation. If that sounds like bribery, well, get used to it; this is a longstanding tradition between the federal and state governments.

Sen. Thune has even said he isn’t necessarily opposed to delaying the recess, though his priorities are different. He wants to avoid yet another shutdown. Polling last year showed that most Americans blamed President Trump and congressional Republicans more for the record-breaking 43-day shutdown than Democrats, and risking blame for yet another one right before midterms isn’t what any Republicans want. Thune has pointed out that there have been two shutdowns in the last 10 months, and he told reporters earlier this month he’s committed to ensuring we “do not face a third.”

As well, the now critically threatened confirmation of Todd Blanche is a thorny situation the Senate majority leader would no doubt like to see resolved. And making things a bit more interesting, President Trump has threatened to re-instate the controversial $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund if Blanche isn’t formally made AG before the recess.

So much drama, so little time to see it all resolved. When the Senate convenes at 10 a.m. Eastern today, the scene will be set for a fantastic grand finale to this summer session.