Overview
- On Friday the Senate passed a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill and advanced a continuing resolution that would fund the government through Dec. 11, moves designed to avert an October shutdown.
- Republicans decided late Friday to postpone a party-line budget resolution that would kick off a reconciliation package after leaders concluded they lacked the votes to pass it this week.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation remains unsettled as several Republican senators are opposed or undecided, leaving the GOP able to lose only one member on the roll call.
- A provision delaying a ban on certain hemp-derived THC products provoked GOP infighting and produced last-minute amendment fights that complicated quick passage of the CR.
- Senate mechanics are driving the timetable: most major measures need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster, reconciliation needs 50 votes, and leaders are using procedural and messaging votes — notably on the SAVE America Act — to shape what can be decided now versus deferred to September.