Senate Takes a Recess From Confirmation Push: Starting Line

‘Have a Great RECESS’

Summer — and August in particular — is meant to be the laziest time of year in Washington. For hundreds of years, the oppressive heat and humidity has encouraged lawmakers to shut down their offices and return home to recharge. But this year, there will likely be little respite even after legislators leave.

Republicans held the Senate in session into the weekend with hopes of negotiating with Democrats to confirm a package of President Donald Trump’s nominees. But after spending all day Saturday slogging through roll call votes without an agreement for a deal, Republicans said they will return after recess to consider a change to the rules, Ellen M. Gilmer and Lillianna Byington write. Senators set a schedule of pro forma sessions throughout the month, and the first item on the agenda for their Sept. 2 return is a procedural motion on on the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2296).

Trump had called for the Senate to not even take a recess, but work straight through August. On Saturday, he sounded less upset, urging Republicans to “go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are” and signing off with “Have a great RECESS.”

This recess will provide members with the first extended period back in their districts since Trump signed the One Big, Beautiful Bill (in addition to some time to attend fundraisers). Lawmakers will spend time fine-tuning their arguments about the mega tax and spending law that could define the 2026 elections, Maeve Sheehey writes.

A memo from House Republicans’ campaign arm last week encouraged members to “define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering.” Meanwhile, the Democrats are doubling down on their critiques of various elements of the package, particularly the cuts to Medicaid, which will affect a number of rural and working class districts represented by Republicans.

Ahead of the break, the Senate managed to approve three of four spending bills that were teed up. Here is what our analysts say about each of the bills:

• BGOV Bill Analysis: S. 2257, FY 2026 Legislative Branch Funding
• BGOV Bill Analysis: S. 2256, FY 2026 Ag-FDA Funding
• BGOV Bill Analysis: Senate FY 2026 MilCon-VA Funding

A Billion Here, a Billion There

Trump has garnered a massive war chest of funding he can use on his preferred candidates. The latest filings to the FEC show that Trump had $274 million in cash on hand on June 30, including donations to three leadership political action committees, joint fundraising committees and an allied super PAC. As Bill Allison writes, it’s an unprecedented amount of money for a president who is in what may (?) be his final term in office.

To read more about other Super PAC donations — including the GOP bid to unseat Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and challengers to Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina — see this story by Greg Giroux.

How Well Do You Know Washington? — Ivy Edition

Brown University’s $50 million capitulation to get the Trump administration to restore funding for medical and health sciences research — and before that the $221 million promised by Columbia University — led us to take a fresh look at Kate Ackley’s reporting on how elite educational institutions upped their investments in Washington representation.

Which of these Ivy League lobbying spenders do you think was No. 1 in the first half of this year?

A) Brown
B) Columbia
C) Cornell
D) Harvard
E) Yale

Scroll down for the answer.

Job Loss From Jobs Data

On the Sunday talk shows, there was discussion about Trump’s decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a large downward revision in jobs figures.

Kevin Hassett, Trump’s chief economic adviser at the White House and potential replacement for Fed chair, alleged that the large jobs data revisions were poorly explained and were evidence enough for a “fresh set of eyes” at BLS. Pressed on whether Trump would fire anyone offering data he disagreed with, Hassett said “No, absolutely not.” He added: “The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they’re more transparent and more reliable.”

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, speaking Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation, urged the US government to “spend some money” to improve its data collection and avoid revisions that engender distrust.

He noted the revision for May and June data, while not unusual, was one of the largest in seven years. “That creates doubt around it,” he said. “Let’s spend some money. Let’s bring the information together. Let’s find where else in the government money is reported.” Read More

Trump told reporters last night that he will name a new statistics chief and a new Federal Reserve governor in coming days. The appointments may shape his economic agenda amid anxiety over the trajectory of global growth.Read More

Also Read:

• US Dollar Seen at Risk From Trump’s Moves to Pick Policymakers
• Wavering US Consumer and Job Market Show Risks to Economy

Mace Running for Governor

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) will run for governor in 2026 instead of for re-election to the House. Mace, who’s in her third term, is holding an announcement event this morning at the Citadel, where she graduated in 1999. “The Swamp is DESPERATE to stop me. Why? Because I fight, and I WIN. And I don’t take orders from anyone,” Mace said on ⁠her campaign website.

She’s joining a crowded Republican field that includes Rep. Ralph Norman. In the House, she voted to oust Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker and pushed to ban transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity. She serves on the Armed Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Veterans’ Affairs committees. Mace’s 1st District in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region leans Republican but not overwhelmingly so.
— Greg Giroux

Did You Ace the Quiz?

As you’ll see in the chart below, the correct answer was Option C) Cornell University. In the quarter ending June 30, Cornell reported its biggest lobbying spending total ever: $444,000.

And a little background:

• Ivy League Clients Boost K Street Activity as They Fight Attacks
• Trump’s $400 Million Columbia Cuts Hit Preemies, Diabetes Care

Before You Go

Texas Democrats are fleeing the state in a bid to block the GOP from engineering a mid-decade congressional redistricting. Trump wants the state legislature to redraw its maps to help stave off a Democratic House takeover in next year’s midterms. Read More

Open-handed punches? California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) promised to extend an open hand to Trump, but lately he’s been throwing punches. His pivot is one Democrats will want to watch ahead of the next elections. Read More

Workers at Boeing’s St. Louis-area defense factories are striking for the first time in almost three decades after union members rejected the company’s modified contract offer. Read More

New York’s law to restrict advanced artificial intelligence is testing the growing lobbying power of venture capitalists in statehouses nationwide. Read More

Moonshiners rejoice! The 157-year-old ban on home distilling is taking center stage at a federal appeals court, amid an increased judicial appetite to push back against federal power. Read More

But no touchdown dances, please. An executive order may clear the way for the Labor Department to declare that student athletes are contractors, not employees. That means no wage protections or other rights that full-fledged workers get from an employer. Read More

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