Senate leaves for 5-week recess without passing Mike Lee’s election bill

SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate adjourned for its annual August recess Saturday morning, leaving town without making headway on a number of bills it initially teed up for consideration.

Senators concluded a rare overnight voting session after advancing a number of priorities to extend government funding past the midterm elections and officially approve Todd Blanche as attorney general. But GOP leaders were forced to scrap several items that were initially scheduled due to disagreements between and among both parties.

Related: Mike Lee leads GOP revolt to cancel August recess unless election bill is passed

Negotiations on Thursday afternoon dragged late into the night as Republican leaders grappled with a lack of internal support for some of President Donald Trump’s top priorities, including a budget resolution to provide supplemental funding to the military as well as a proposal to regulate name-image-likeness deals in college sports.

Notably, the Senate adjourned without taking a vote on the SAVE America Act, a proof-of-citizenship and voter ID bill being pushed by Utah Sen. Mike Lee. The Utah Republican had threatened to disrupt plans to adjourn for the August recess if the election bill was not passed by the end of the week.

Senate considers voter ID proposal

Rather than a vote on SAVE, the Senate teed up a proposal requiring voters to provide photo ID when voting in person or by mail. That resolution failed in a 52-46 procedural vote that required 60 votes to advance. All Democrats opposed the measure.

Still, Lee indicated it partially satisfied his demands to hold a SAVE-related vote before the August recess.

“We’re not in a position right now where we have the wherewithal to pass (SAVE) right now,” Lee said ahead of votes on Friday. “But we are going to vote on … (the) measure with voter ID, which is about half of what the SAVE America Act is, and that’ll give us some indication of where we stand tonight.”

Still, Lee forced a voice vote in the Senate on whether to adjourn for recess, following through with a threat he made last week. While Lee initially wanted a roll call vote that would force each senator on the record, he came to an agreement with GOP leaders to conduct a voice vote where those present vote either “yes” or “no” and the presiding senator judges the outcome based on volume.

That way, GOP leaders contended, vulnerable incumbents eager to get home would not be forced into a tough vote as conservative Republican voters online pressure them to stay in session.

Senate punts key agenda items to September

The Senate began its week with a hefty to-do list, but several of those items began to unravel as the days dragged on due to partisan disagreements and a tight timetable.

Among the top priorities for Republican leaders was the multibillion-dollar budget resolution for military funding and farm aid, which also included portions of the SAVE America Act. Trump had pushed Republicans to get the budget framework passed before the recess period, especially as GOP leaders push to finalize the spending bill before the midterm elections.

However, there was waning support among Senate Republicans to advance the spending blueprint. Democrats were prepared to vote against it, leaving GOP leaders with a small margin for success.

Utah Sen. John Curtis was among those who was undecided on the budget resolution, telling the Deseret News on Friday afternoon he was “conflicted” on advancing the framework too quickly.

“I’m willing to do it, but we’re not ready,” Curtis said. “I don’t think people understand the complexities of notifying the committees.”

Lee and a pair of other Senate conservatives — Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — huddled with Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday evening to discuss a path forward. Emerging from that meeting, the trio announced a deal to delay consideration of the SAVE America Act and the multibillion-dollar budget request until after the recess.

The senators spoke with Trump ahead of the meeting, and the president was in “total agreement,” they said.

“He agrees,” Johnson, who leads the Budget Committee, said of Trump. “Don’t take the vote tonight, and just work diligently through August and September to do, actually, a better budget reconciliation. So that’s been the idea conference-wide. We’re all very satisfied with that, and so we’re not going to vote on a budget resolution tonight.”

The Senate also punted consideration of the Protect College Sports Act, a sweeping college sports reform package. Among other things, the bill would allow the NCAA to limit student-athlete transfers and eligibility, prevent coaches from leaving teams before the end of the season, and enforce spending caps.

“It’s a wide-ranging conversation. College sports is something that needs to be fixed, and they’ve got a good solution,” Thune said early Saturday morning. “But you know, with all the procedural hurdles you have to deal with here in the Senate to get through it, we would have been here not into just next week, but probably the week after.”

GOP leaders check off some items on their to-do list

Still, the Senate managed to check off some major to-do list items before leaving town, such as the confirmation of Blanche as attorney general and the funding of the federal government through Dec. 11.

However, the fight to avoid a government shutdown is not yet over. The proposal must still be approved by the House, which doesn’t return until Aug. 31.

The funding deadline is Oct. 1, after which a shutdown would take place. Both parties are hoping to avoid another bitter shutdown fight ahead of the midterm elections.

The Senate also approved a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran earlier in the day on Friday, marking a major bipartisan win after years of negotiations between both parties. That package must also be approved by the House before it can be sent to Trump’s desk.