The Senate is hitting the ground running this week to finalize as much of its long to-do list before leaving for its five-week summer recess. There are two major developments:
First, there’s a deal to unlock Todd Blanche’s confirmation. And second, the Senate Appropriations Committee announced it has reached a deal to keep the government funded past Sept. 30.
🔷 Let’s start with Blanche: Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) cut a deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ), clearing the way for President Trump’s attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, to advance on Tuesday.
The deal: The DOJ agreed to permanently end the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for Trump’s allies. Cornyn and Tillis would not agree to vote “yes” on Blanche’s nomination if this fund remained intact.
What the deal does ~not~ include: Cornyn’s DOJ deal does nothing to stop the sweeping immunity offered to Trump and his family for past conduct. The Trumps are still given permanent immunity from any investigation or prosecution into them or their businesses. Though, the acting attorney general stressed this only applies “retroactively.” Read more
So, when’s the vote?: Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) scheduled a panel vote for Tuesday at 9 a.m.
🔷 OK, now the government funding deal: Senators on the Appropriations Committee agreed to a government funding deal on Sunday that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of September — right during the peak of the midterm elections.
What’s in the deal?: “The bill would include ‘necessary adjustments’ for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; the Disaster Relief Fund; and shipbuilding across several vessels. The bill would also temporarily block the White House from making changes to the grant-approving process.” Read more
If it’s passed: It would fund the government through Dec. 11, notably after the midterms.
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BUT, BUT, WHAT ABOUT THE SAVE ACT?:
Nothing has changed on that front. President Trump still desperately wants Senate Republicans to pass his voter ID law before leaving for the summer recess. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has made it clear Republicans do not have the votes to do this.
For what it’s worth: A growing number of Republican senators want recess to be delayed until the voter ID law passes.
AND WHAT ABOUT IRAN WAR FUNDING?:
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has yet to win any notable converts in the Trump administration’s push for tens of billions of dollars to quickly inject into the Iran war, which has rapidly exhausted U.S. stockpiles and Pentagon coffers,” The Hill’s Ellen Mitchell reports.
How much has the war cost?: “Some in the GOP say the administration didn’t fully prepare them for the cost of the conflict, which Hegseth said earlier in July had reached $37.5 billion. But independent analysts — such as Moody Analytics — project it has cost at least $132 billion.”
Read more on the Iran war funding’s path now: ‘Hegseth struggles to sell Senate on Iran war funding’
