Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is sending lawmakers home early for their summer recess today to avoid dragging out a fight within the GOP over the Jeffrey Epstein saga. The move came after the GOP-led Rules Committee — which was working on advancing a slate of unrelated bills — came to a halt Monday evening because Democrats announced their plan to force a committee vote on bipartisan legislation that would call for the release of the Epstein files. Republicans on the panel decided to recess the meeting with lawmakers saying there were no plans to reconvene at all before September. With the House floor paralyzed, House GOP leaders announced on Tuesday that the chamber is leaving for a nearly six week summer break with last votes expected around 3:30 P.M. today. Before leaving, the House will try to complete work on H.R. 1549 – China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2025 and H.R. 4275 – Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, as amended.
Senate Republicans are weighing whether to obey President Donald Trump’s command to cancel some or all of the August recess to approve key nominees or to use the full month to go home and sell the party’s tax and spending law to voters, which top Republicans view as crucial to their midterm election hopes. Having passed the party’s “big, beautiful bill” and a package to claw back funding for public media and foreign aid, the Senate’s plan was to push ahead on scores of Trump nominations this week and next and then leave for the extended break next Friday, August 1st. However, the GOP has more than 130 nominees awaiting floor action, including many out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an initial batch of judicial choices from the Senate Judiciary Committee, with many more set to be advanced this week. Democrats have refused to concede time on any of the nominations, drawing each one out and forcing Republicans to consider their options.
For today, the Senate will take up: Confirmation of Executive Calendar #91 Arielle Roth, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Confirmation of Executive Calendar #114 John Hurley, of California, to be Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes and the Motion to proceed to Cal. #121, H.R. 3944, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Later today, the Senate is expected to take up Confirmation of Executive Calendar #259 Zachary M. Bluestone, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, Confirmation of Executive Calendar #50 Aaron Szabo, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Air and Radiation) and a Motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #131 Matthew Lohmeier, of Arizona, to be Under Secretary of the Air Force.
