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Category: On the Hill

August Recess Updates

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August recess has officially begun! The Senate left town on Saturday and will return September 14. The House returns August 31.

Short-term funding bill passed:

Early on Saturday, the Senate passed HR 6500, in a 90-6 vote. The continuing resolution (CR) extends current funding levels through December 11, averting a government shutdown in September before the midterm elections. The Senate version is an expanded version of the recent House CR, meaning House members will need to vote again on the final measure once they return. President Trump has already indicated he would sign the CR in its current form.

UG revisions temporarily blocked: 

On a positive note, the Senate bill blocks OMB from implementing its proposed changes to Uniform Guidance through December 11. The House version did not include blocking language on uniform guidance.

NIL bill punted to September:

Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) were hopeful that their co-sponsored bill, The Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668), would receive a vote before recess, but last-minute debate bumped it until September. The bill would establish rules for athlete name, image, and likeness (NIL), and address revenue sharing, athlete eligibility, and transfers, among other details. It has sparked extensive debate among lawmakers, universities, and athletic conferences.

Cantwell suggested that Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had “set a date certain in September to bring it up.”

New attorney general:

Todd Blanche was narrowly confirmed by the Senate early Saturday morning as the new U.S. Attorney General. All Democrats, as well as Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, voted against him, for a final 50-49 vote.

Farewell pennies? 

And finally, it may officially be the end of the road for the one cent coin. On Friday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent S. 1525, which would direct the Treasury secretary to end production of pennies. The Senate bill is similar to HR 3074, which the House passed on July 14. Both bills would codify President Trump’s February 2025 directive to the Treasury department to end penny manufacturing.

GOP Senate Agenda Complicated by Recent Changes

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As a lengthy August recess approaches, recent changes are leaving Republicans, who were already dealing with a narrow Senate majority, two votes short on the Appropriations Committee.

The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) late Saturday night leaves a vacancy in the powerful Senate Budget Committee. As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Graham played a major role in drafting budget resolutions and reconciliation bills, including last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and recent immigration enforcement package. His death complicates the plans of House Republican leaders to push through another reconciliation package. Graham also served as chairman of the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement to serve out the rest of Graham’s term. Graham, who was up for reelection, was set to face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. An August 11 special primary election will determine the new Republican nominee.

Chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is also absent from Congress, having spent the last several weeks in the hospital following a medical emergency. His sudden departure and relative silence from his office have caused widespread speculation over his condition, including from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who sent him a letter last week urging a transparent status update on his condition and ability to continue holding office. Last night, McConnell released a statement that said he was recovering at a rehabilitation center after losing consciousness from a fall, and a case of pneumonia. His continued absence has forced Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) to postpone FY27 fiscal markups yet again. Republicans have a one-seat margin on the Senate Appropriations Committee and will not be able to advance any spending bills even along party lines without full attendance.

Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship

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In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s executive order declaring that children born in the US are not American citizens if their parents were here illegally or temporarily.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land,’” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, citing congressional debate over the amendment, “We keep that promise today.”

Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorusch, and Samuel Alito dissented. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the court’s majority to strike down the executive order but said he based his decision on a federal law, not the Constitution. Back in April, Trump attended the oral arguments for this case, Trump v. Barbara, becoming the first sitting president ever to do so. The Court was expected to uphold birthright citizenship, but the final ruling was closer than predicted, with most expecting a 7-2 ruling.

The decision is one of several key rulings released over the past week:

  • In a 6-3 decision, the Court upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, ruling that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution or Title IX.
  • In a 6-3 decision, the Court expanded the power of the executive branch to fire independent regulators, with the notable exception of members of the Federal Reserve. Despite allowing Fed governor Lisa Cook to stay in her role, this ruling increases the power of the president to fire agency heads at will.
  • In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld Mississippi’s grace period for late mail-in ballots, rejecting Trump’s persistent attempts to invalidate ballots arriving after Election Day. This ruling is significant for protecting mail-in voting across 2026 battleground districts. Over half of states permit mailed ballots to be counted a certain number of days after the election, if they are postmarked by Election Day.
  • In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court erased party spending limits in federal elections, striking down a federal election law more than 50 years old.
  • Also in a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled the Trump administration may end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence in Haiti and Syria, allowing DHS to end the temporary protected status program.

CJS Bill Clears House Appropriations Committee

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After a markup session during which numerous amendments were considered, the House Appropriations Committee adopted its FY2027 Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill by a vote of 32 – 28.

The bill, which funds a number of science agencies, including NSF, NOAA, NASA, and NIST, is available here.

The text of the report, which details how the funds are to be spent, is available here.

 

 

Trump signs $1.2 trillion funding bill

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Following the quick turnaround leaders hoped for, the House passed a spending package on Tuesday afternoon to fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. Just hours after the House approved the bill, President Trump signed the package into law, officially ending the partial government shutdown. More details on the package can be found here.

The final vote was 217 to 214, with most House Democrats (193) voting against the bill, while 21 Republicans also opposed the measure. Speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic that the bill would pass quickly, but it faced hurdles as President Trump and Republicans pressured conservative holdouts to vote in favor.

While the package fully funds the majority of federal agencies through September, it funds DHS only through the end of next week, setting the stage for difficult negotiations over immigration restrictions. Lawmakers have ten days to reach a broader deal or another short-term agreement to avoid a funding lapse. The funding debate has been focused on ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but DHS includes other major agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.