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The Senate’s final countdown to recess
punchbowl ^ | July 27 | punchbowl

Posted on 07/27/2026 9:18:28 AM PDT by RandFan

The Senate is the only game in town on Capitol Hill for the next two weeks, with the House gone already.

The late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) memorial service is Tuesday afternoon at National Cathedral. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are all expected to attend. There’s also a Capitol Rotunda ceremony on Tuesday morning.

The Senate has a full plate during its two-week sprint to August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is under pressure from competing factions of his conference — and the White House — over the SAVE America Act, reconciliation 3.0, the midterms and much more.

Curveball. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is promising to add another complication to an already jam-packed agenda. Lee vowed over the weekend to force senators to go on record over whether to recess for the scheduled August break. This is an escalation of his pressure campaign over the SAVE America Act.

To be clear, a vote to block the recess would fail overwhelmingly. But it’s a nightmare for GOP senators because it’s meant to shame Republicans for recessing instead of staying in Washington to pass the controversial voter ID and proof-of-citizenship legislation.

Such a vote would expose Republicans to unrelenting criticism from the MAGA base and social media influencers — not to mention Trump. GOP leaders see the move as unproductive. Even if it succeeded, it wouldn’t change the math on the SAVE America Act, and it would deny vulnerable GOP incumbents the chance to go home and campaign.

Pair that with Trump’s call for the Senate to prioritize the House-passed budget resolution while Thune instead focuses on a bipartisan funding deal, and GOP infighting only intensifies.

(Excerpt) Read more at punchbowl.news ...


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Mike Lee is objecting to the recess unless SAVE is passed.
1 posted on 07/27/2026 9:18:28 AM PDT by RandFan
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To: RandFan

Ah, that hammock in the breezy, sunny mansion backyard, with the servants polishing he chrome wheels of each luxury car and another bringing a refreshing drink to enjoy during the recess. What a life.

No sense of urgency. The hapless, downtrodden American people won’t care. Many won’t even vote.


2 posted on 07/27/2026 9:22:49 AM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: RandFan
...controversial voter ID and proof-of-citizenship legislation.

Which polls show 85% or so of people want Congress to pass into law. But what does the sentiment of the people matter?

3 posted on 07/27/2026 9:24:48 AM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: RandFan

Awesome. Another chance to NOT get anything done.


4 posted on 07/27/2026 9:26:22 AM PDT by rktman (Patriotism not 'hateriotism' !. Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. 🇺🇸)
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To: RandFan

With Thune as majority leader, the Senate is almost useless.


5 posted on 07/27/2026 9:42:49 AM PDT by brownsfan (We are already on the slippery slope.)
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To: RandFan

And no Clarity Act. Behind on appointments and judges. Things that actually would help citizens. The admin and GOP senate are incompetent.


6 posted on 07/27/2026 9:46:26 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator
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To: RandFan

Before senators leave Washington, the Senate passes a unanimous consent agreement or an adjournment order that explicitly outlines the schedule for the upcoming pro forma sessions.

One single senator could object to this scheduling order while the full Senate is still active. Do it, Senator Mike Lee, or you’re not serious.

Blocking the order would force the entire Senate to stay in Washington and continue working instead of going on recess.

This is what a true objection could look like, Senator Mike Lee.


7 posted on 07/27/2026 9:53:50 AM PDT by jacknhoo (Luke 12:51; Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.)
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To: jacknhoo

22 of our seats are up this year and 9 of them will be gone. The rest are betting on our short memories and expect themselves to be free for 2 years until ‘28. All But Thune and Murkowski.

In ‘28 we should have 19 to defend. I’d throw Lankford in with the other two but not Rand.


8 posted on 07/27/2026 10:06:01 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: rktman

“”””Awesome. Another chance to NOT get anything done.””””

Having them gone is a good thing. Less damage done.


9 posted on 07/27/2026 10:08:37 AM PDT by shelterguy
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To: shelterguy

True. We seem safer when they aren’t in town.

:)


10 posted on 07/27/2026 10:31:11 AM PDT by rktman (Patriotism not 'hateriotism' !. Enlisted USN 1967 proudly. 🇺🇸)
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To: RandFan

If we had a vote asking whether the entire congress should just stay home it would pass almost unanimously.


11 posted on 07/27/2026 10:33:19 AM PDT by Bullish (My tagline ran off with another man, but it's okay... I wasn't married to it.)
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To: RandFan

Trump knows there’ll be no SAVE. This is easily inferred by considering if SAVE passed this afternoon, at this point in the election cycle, it would be too late to implement for 11/3, and 11/3 will already work in faulty primaries (think LA) based on tainted voter rolls.

Trump has known for quite awhile that SAVE would never happen, and has laid the groundwork for EFFECTIVELY having SAVE without SAVE legislation:

EO 14248 and EO 14399 together is a good part of SAVE. Those two plus other ingredients, gives us SAVE. You may note that even that is too late for 11/3. I agree: Fed elections on 11/3 will be DELAYED. I hear estimates of 6 to 24 months.

EO 14248 (“Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” signed March 25, 2025) and EO 14399 (“Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” signed March 31, 2026) are sequential Trump administration executive orders focused on election integrity, particularly non-citizen voting and related procedures. Both expand the federal role in areas traditionally managed by states, and both have faced major legal challenges from state attorneys general and voting-rights groups arguing presidential overreach.


12 posted on 07/27/2026 10:36:52 AM PDT by C210N
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To: C210N

EO 14248 was the broader “first wave” order that tried to impose multiple structural changes (registration forms, voting equipment standards, funding leverage, and mail deadlines) shortly after the start of the administration. Courts largely viewed major pieces as exceeding presidential authority.

EO 14399, issued roughly a year later, is more narrowly focused on creating and leveraging federal citizenship data lists and tightening the postal system’s role in mail ballots. It can be seen as an attempt to achieve similar citizenship-verification goals through a different mechanism after the earlier order faced judicial setbacks.

In short, both pursue stricter citizenship safeguards and tighter controls around mail voting, but 14248 cast a wider net across registration, systems, and funding, while 14399 centers on proactive federal eligibility lists plus USPS operational changes. Both remain highly contested on constitutional and statutory grounds.


13 posted on 07/27/2026 10:39:45 AM PDT by C210N
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To: RandFan

A GLIMMER OF SANITY


14 posted on 07/27/2026 11:24:09 AM PDT by ridesthemiles (not giving up on TRUMP---EVER)
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To: C210N

And yet not one of the people predicting a 6-24 month delay will make that public claim.


15 posted on 07/27/2026 11:26:27 AM PDT by Fury
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To: RandFan

These guys have recess as often as Mrs. Lamb’s Kindergarten.


16 posted on 07/27/2026 12:17:27 PM PDT by lurk (u)
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To: lurk

Recess from fxxxxxx what ???


17 posted on 07/27/2026 12:21:01 PM PDT by skinny old man (Still lurking and posting after all these years(27 yrs ?)(more ?)(seems like more...))
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To: RandFan

Is this a real recess or will they have pro-forma sessions to prevent recess appointments?


18 posted on 07/27/2026 12:21:07 PM PDT by kosciusko51
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To: Fury

They won’t say it publicly yet — that’s the point.

The 6-to-24-month delay estimates aren’t reckless; they’re prescient. Those making them aren’t just guessing — they have a rollout plan with a clear purpose. It starts with early knowers, then builds layer by layer until the reality becomes impossible to ignore and everybody knows.

You’re not going to get this from NBC, ABC, Fox, or any of the compromised media. By the time they acknowledge it, the window for early understanding will already be closed.

You can wait until everybody “knows,” or you can see the early signals today. I’m choosing the latter.


19 posted on 07/27/2026 12:21:40 PM PDT by C210N
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To: kosciusko51

I’m expecting pro-forma sessions, preventing recess appts.

With Turtle/Thune, the Sinate has essentially been in constant pro-forma for every single recess.

0bama got in 32 recess appts. Not a single recess appt since.


20 posted on 07/27/2026 12:26:42 PM PDT by C210N
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