Senators left Washington for a five-week recess Saturday after hours of tense negotiations over which priorities to take up before departing, culminating in a series of early morning votes.
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill to avert a federal government shutdown starting in October, and the measure now heads to the House. The chamber also voted 50-49 to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) breaking with their party to oppose him.
Senators are not scheduled to return to Washington until Sept. 14. The House, which departed weeks ago, is set to return Aug. 31.
Some Senate Republicans wanted to take the first step toward passing legislation to send more money to the Pentagon to help pay for the Iran war before leaving town. The legislation would also fund election-related measures and send aid to farmers.
But Senate Republicans decided to wait until September to take up a budget resolution needed to pass such a bill after a late-night call with President Donald Trump, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.
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The post What the Senate did and didn’t get done in the final hours before recess appeared first on Washington Post.
