The Senate has resurrected its efforts to assemble a set of fiscal 2026 spending bills. Leaders expect to seek unanimous consent Friday to tie together the military construction and veterans affairs bills with a third bill funding Congress itself. This is the second attempt in two days to reach a deal, and it could provide an avenue to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month.
Nominations
A Senate deal seems close, but it will not clear a path for confirming dozens of President Trump’s nominees before the August recess. Staff for Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were in talks Friday to see if they could swap Democrats’ willingness to speed up the confirmation process for some unrelated policy concessions from the White House.
Congressional approval rating: 23%
House:
A House Democratic group is planning to hold a town hall in Rep. Bryan Steil’s Wisconsin district this week, a sign that more such events are likely as the Republican NRCC begins to advise members to aggressively sell Trump’s tax and budget law to constituents over the summer break. The first in-person town hall by a House Republican this year featured boos and jeers from a hostile crowd, and other GOP members are expecting similar scenes.