All in favor of a permanent recess, raise your hand.
August Recess Coming
The U.S. Senate’s tentative 2026 August recess (officially called a “State Work Period”) runs from August 10 to September 11, 2026.
Senators are expected to return around September 14. This is based on the official tentative legislative schedule published by the Senate (updated as of late 2025 and still listed that way).
These periods are primarily for state/constituent work rather than pure vacation, and the schedule can shift if leadership changes plans (there was discussion earlier about possibly adjusting or canceling it for legislation, but the official calendar has retained these dates).
Deal Reached to Punt the Ball
The Hill reports Thune, Trump, Senate conservatives reach deal to set aside budget, SAVE America Act impasse
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), President Trump and Senate conservatives reached a deal Friday night to set aside a vote on a budget resolution and defer action on much of the SAVE America Act until after the August recess, settling a fight that had divided Senate Republicans for weeks.
Conservative Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) emerged from Thune’s office in the Capitol after speaking with Trump and holding a two-hour conference meeting with GOP colleagues, and told reporters they had reached an agreement.
They said that there’s now consensus within the conference to postpone action on a Senate budget resolution that would serve as a blueprint for a reconciliation bill until after the August recess and to vote immediately on a key element of the SAVE America Act — the requirement that voters show photo identification in federal elections.
Johnson, Lee and Scott, who have called on Senate GOP colleagues to cancel the August recess to debate and attempt to pass the full SAVE America Act, acknowledged they didn’t have the votes to advance that bill anytime soon.
“We had about a two-hour conference meeting, trying to figure out what we need to do to come to an agreement to accomplish what the president wanted,” Johnson said, acknowledging that the proposed budget resolution may have failed on the Senate floor because of a lack of enough Republican support.
“There was a concern whether or not it could actually pass, the budget resolution, tonight,” he said, noting that some colleagues wanted substantially more funding for the Pentagon than the $73 billion proposed in a House-passed budget resolution. The budget resolution would serve as a blueprint for a party-line reconciliation bill Republicans aim to pass without needing Democratic support.
The conservative leaders say they’re also “hopeful” on finding a way to vote soon on a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11 and to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general. Republicans had spent much of Friday searching for a deal to accelerate the timeframe for passing both priorities.
Lee indicated that he would not force Republican colleagues to vote on a politically sensitive adjournment resolution in order to embark on a five-week recess because he was satisfied with an emerging agreement to vote instead on a bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) to require voters to show photo identification in federal elections.
Lee said “of course” he’s disappointed that the SAVE America Act won’t pass anytime soon but acknowledged “we’re not in a position right now where we have the wherewithal to pass it right now.”
The SAVE Act Won’t Pass Ever
That has been my accurate assessment since March.
Had Republicans gone after a simple voter-ID measure it would have had a chance. Now, I believe time has run out on anything.
There may be sufficient Republican votes to get to 50, but voter-ID requires 60 votes, depending on exact wording.
When you try for stupid, unobtainable stuff, the most likely outcome is nothing at all.
Senator Lee Has Blamed Thune All Year
Q: So what does Lee do now?
A: Agree to punt the ball until September 14.
Reconciliation Bill Odds
Republicans have pissed around with the SAVE Act for so long they may not get anything done before the election.
Starting roughly on October 5, there will be an election recess. If nothing passes in September, the odds are everything is postponed until Republicans get slaughtered in the Midterms.
That suits me just fine. I would like to see nothing pass for the rest of the year.
The biggest remaining budget item is more military spending and my position is just say no.
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Don’t Be Shocked
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