This week is currently set to be the last before the United States Senate breaks for its August recess, and with so much still on their to-do list, it promises to be a busy one. The big question now is: how much will they actually be able to get done?
One of the top priorities remains the confirmation of President Trump’s Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche. That nomination has been held up for several weeks by outgoing Senators John Thune and Thom Tillis, both of whom lost their reelection bids after President Trump endorsed against them. Tillis announced yesterday that he and Cornyn both will now allow Blanche to move forward, and we're already starting to see that progress, with Blanche's nomination advancing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee following a 12-10 vote.
Newsmax contributor Jeffery Lord believes this means we’ll start to see even more progress on that front now. He said, referring to the delays: “He [Blanche] would be a cabinet member, and that’s not the kind of thing you want to fool around with.” Lord also called out the ambiguity of the last several weeks, saying: “Either do it, or don’t do it, and tell people you aren’t gonna do it.”
Beyond the confirmation of Blanche, there are also some key legislative priorities that need to be accomplished. One of which is, of course, the SAVE Act. President Trump has continued to push aggressively for its passage through the Senate, but Senate Republicans remain hesitant to abolish the filibuster in order to force it through. Most analysts, including Lord, don’t see much hope for it during this Congress, let alone before the August recess.
There is also the issue of new sanctions on Russia, which were originally proposed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham. While those sanctions have enjoyed wide support, they’ve remained fairly low on the overall Senate priority list.
Lord predicted that progress will be made on that as well as Blanche’s nomination, but added that it won’t be pretty. He said: “Dealing with the United States Senate is like herding cats; it’s all directions all at once. Getting something accomplished is not easy.”