With the OBBBA now law, the Senate is scheduled to be in session through the remainder of July before the August recess begins. The House is out of session this week before returning for a two-week session that ends on Thursday, July 24.
The Senate will vote this evening at 5:30pm on a cloture motion on Preston Griffith, Under Secretary of Energy. Leader Thune also filed cloture on William Briggs, Deputy Administrator of SBA, Scott Kupor, Director of OPM, and Bryan Bedford, FAA Administrator; all three nominees will be confirmed early this week.
Over 120 Nominees Ready to be Confirmed by the Senate
Confirming President Trump’s pending nominees is a top priority for the remainder of July. There are over 120 nominees pending on the Executive Calendar across various agencies and the Senate will confirm as many as possible before August, including several others this week.
Rescissions Bill/Vote-a-Rama on the Floor Next Week
Next week, the Senate will look to process the House-passed rescissions bill (H.R. 3), which rescinds $9.4 billion in funding for various Department of State programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If President Trump does not sign a rescissions bill into law by next Friday, July 18 (45 days after submission), the withheld funds must be released by law.
To meet the deadline, on Tuesday or Wednesday the Senate will hold a vote at simple-majority standard on whether to discharge the rescissions bill from the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committees. If discharged, the recissions package would be placed on the Senate calendar, at which point a motion to proceed could be entered. Like the discharge motion, this would be subject to a simple majority vote; if the Senate does proceed to the bill, debate is limited to 10 hours, followed by a “vote-a-rama” with members able to offer germane amendments to the spending cut package.
In 2018, President Trump’s rescissions package failed on the initial motion to discharge (48-50), so there was no vote-a-rama process. Thus, open procedural questions remain given the lack of recent historical precedent. Senate leadership is in conversations with the Parliamentarian to assess what type of amendments are permissible.
Similar to the reconciliation bill last week, Senate leadership can offer a “wraparound” amendment to make changes needed to pass the rescissions bill, including potential modifications requested by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). If the Senate passes an amended rescissions bill next week, the House will have time to re-pass it before the July 18 deadline (though House leadership will have to re-whip the bill in its amended form).
Senate Appropriations Committee Mark Ups on Thursday
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold its first full committee markups of the Fiscal Year 2026 cycle:
- Commerce, Justice, Science
- Agriculture/FDA
- Legislative Branch
It is unclear if any Senate Democrats will vote for these bills in Committee, or if they will see floor time with the September 30 funding deadline quickly approaching.
So far, the House has passed its Military Construction/Veterans Affairs spending bill off the floor and another four out of Committee. While nearly three months away, questions persist as to the chances of a continuing resolution (CR) being able to pass the House or Senate prior to September 30.
In addition, supplemental emergency funding will create another wrinkle in the appropriations process, with this weekend’s tragic events in Texas adding heightened attention.
Senate Armed Services Markup of NDAA
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold subcommittee and full markups on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) beginning tomorrow through Friday. Given the closed nature of these markups, we do not expect to see NDAA text until after the full Committee has approved the bill. NDAA could be on the Senate floor the last week of July.
As is typically the case, we expect the NDAA to be an attractive “must pass” vehicle for members seeking to enact legislative initiatives, including outbound investment screening regimes and other China-related measures.
Ultimately, in order for any additional policy to be attached to the House/Senate NDAA later in the year, it must have sign-off from bipartisan and bicameral leadership, Armed Services Committees, and relevant authorizing committees.
The House Armed Services Committee is scheduled to markup on July 15th with floor action not expected until early September.
Russia Sanctions Bill Possible for July
The Graham-Blumenthal Russia sanctions bill remains a possibility for Senate floor action in July. However, though the Administration has been involved in the drafting of the bill, the White House has not indicated it is supportive of such legislation moving.
The House is waiting to see if the Senate moves on a Russia sanctions bill before it takes further action, though they are engaged on any potential language changes. Note that a House companion to Graham/Blumenthal was introduced in April by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).
July 14 “Crypto Week” in the House
When the House returns next week, it will consider three separate pieces of digital asset legislation as part of a “Crypto Week”: namely, GENIUS, CLARITY, and Majority Whip Emmer’s Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The House plans to take up and consider the Senate-passed GENIUS Act (regulating stablecoins) without changes, providing the President another substantial legislative win to tout headed into the August Recess.
On market structure/CLARITY, the Senate has indicated it would like to introduce companion market structure legislation before the August recess and mark-up said legislation the first week of September, with a notional goal of enacting a bill by September 30. We believe this timeline is optimistic given the need for 60 votes and some initial reticence from Senate Democrats, but a healthy House vote on CLARITY could help provide momentum.
OUTLOOK/ANALYSIS. The passage of the OBBBA marks a significant victory for President Trump and the Republican Congress, especially House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. It also frees up significant time for other legislative priorities for the remainder of July through the end of the year.
There has already been chatter about the possibility of additional reconciliation legislation this year, though no action on this front is imminent. Instead, the Senate will focus on confirming nominees, processing the rescissions bill and passing the NDAA, while the House will work to clear additional appropriations bills and send the GENIUS Act to President Trump’s desk.
Meanwhile, the September 30 government funding deadline looms large, and despite some committee activity this week on individual appropriations bills, we do not expect any lawmaking exercises on full-year funding to occur until after the August recess.
Lastly, the President’s new drop-dead deadline of August 1 for trading partners to reach agreements on reciprocal tariffs and non-tariff barriers will drive headlines throughout July, though Congress’s role remains limited just as it is with foreign conflicts and potential agreements and ceasefires currently being negotiated.
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