(DCNF)—The House GOP will have to rush to enact key parts of its legislative agenda if it wants to pass them before the beginning of the August recess.
Republicans are moving to pass a third reconciliation bill, a stock trading ban, a continuing resolution (CR), defense and appropriations bills and more before their four-week long recess. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed optimism that the $95 billion reconciliation package can pass before the recess, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded with skepticism.
When Johnson said both chambers would get it through by the recess, Thune told reporters that was “news to me.” The package was expected to reach the House in the coming days, though it is unclear when the Senate would hold a vote.
The package would first be sent to the Senate Budget Committee, though its chairman, the late Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, passed away Saturday. Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was expected to be the next chairman, though there has been no formal announcement. The committee’s sudden change in leadership may delay the Senate’s passage of the package.
The package includes $10 billion for the House Administration Committee to hand out grants to implement the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, $72 billion for the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to address the Iran war and $12 billion to aid struggling farmers. No spending cuts were included.
Some senators expressed frustration that the package does not address affordability concerns, according to Punchbowl. Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis threatened to stall the SAVE America Act if it reached the Senate, which could threaten the legislation’s passage if components of the SAVE America Act remained in the package.
Both chambers are behind on passing their 12 required government funding bills by the Sept. 30 deadline.
House Republicans are working to pass a CR to temporarily fund the government through the November midterm elections, which could reach the floor in the coming days. Republicans could face complications passing any funding bill, as some GOP lawmakers demanded the SAVE America Act be attached to every appropriations bill.
Johnson said leadership had not decided whether the SAVE America Act would be attached to the CR, Politico reported.
“Well, we haven’t decided all that yet,” Johnson said. “The SAVE America Act is the number one priority for us, and we’re going to attach it to everything that makes sense. So we’ll have to see.”
Thirteen Republicans voted against a procedural vote on June 30 that would have allowed debate on attaching the SAVE America Act to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who voted against the rule, disagreed with Johnson’s plan to attach the election integrity bill through MIRVing, arguing the legislation should be included in the NDAA’s text.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise procedurally voted “no” to offer a motion to reconsider the vote, which would allow the vote to be taken up again. The chamber has yet to hold another vote on the NDAA, though they are aiming to get it passed.
The Senate failed to advance its version of the NDAA in a Tuesday procedural vote after every Democrat on the floor voted against it. Democrats cited the Iran war and the continuation of U.S. strikes for voting against the package.
“Now the White House has formally notified Congress that hostilities have resumed, that American strikes are under way again and our forces remain positioned for more. Yet Republicans want the Senate to take up the NDAA, the defense bill, as though none of this is happening,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor.
In the House, Luna stated Tuesday she would support Johnson’s MIRVing plan as long as the SAVE America Act was attached to all appropriations bills. This allowed the House floor to reopen and lawmakers passed the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2027 with the SAVE America Act attached.
The appropriations bill will have to pass the Senate, though it could stalemate with the SAVE America Act attached.
The Senate is prioritizing the confirmations of Trump’s nominees, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to be the next attorney general and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton as the permanent director of national intelligence (DNI). They held several hearings for Trump nominees beginning Tuesday.
Tillis demanded that Blanche meet with the alleged victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before he would consider voting to advance his confirmation. Blanche attended a tense meeting with the alleged victims and their families, which potentially could lead Tillis to support advancing Blanche’s confirmation out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn said he would not commit to supporting Blanche unless he committed to “further briefing” on the tax audit issues involving President Donald Trump and his family.
Blanche engaged in heated conversations with Senate Republicans over a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund aimed at compensating victims of government weaponization, which raised concerns that defendants convicted of violent crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot would receive these funds. Many Senate Republicans opposed the fund and could have supported a Democrat-led amendment to kill it, which raised the likelihood of Trump vetoing a $69.5 billion reconciliation package that Trump ultimately signed into law on June 10.
The acting attorney general testified in front of the House of Representatives on June 2 that the DOJ dropped the fund.
The Senate intended to rush Clayton’s confirmation hearing along when Trump nominated him on June 11. The scheduled June 17 hearing was abruptly postponed after Trump said the nomination should not move forward until Jamie McDonald was approved to be the next attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The Senate scheduled Clayton’s hearing unusually early, reflecting pressure on the upper chamber to pass an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that expired on June 12, which allows the government to conduct warrantless searches on American citizens’ data.
It is unlikely either chamber would be able to reauthorize Section 702 before the August recess. The House’s attempt to temporarily extend Section 702 failed after most Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it.
The House may vote soon on the Stop Insider Trading Act, a long-stalled proposal to ban stock trading for lawmakers. Leadership discussed scheduling a vote before the August recess.
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