Why quit when you’re winning?
Republicans in Congress and the White House hit the ground running this year, and they’ve accomplished quite a bit in the last six months. But now GOP lawmakers are looking forward to a nice August break after weeks of all-nighters and working weekends. The break may have to wait, however. President Donald Trump has nominees to confirm – and he isn’t in the mood for taking it slow.
No Rest for the Weary Senate
“Hopefully the very talented John Thune, fresh off our many victories over the past two weeks and, indeed, 6 months, will cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “We need them badly!!!”
At some point Monday, July 21, the Senate is expected to hold final confirmation votes on six presidential nominees, ranging from judicial appointments in Missouri through to under secretaries in a number of significant agencies. At or around 5:30 p.m. Eastern, the Senate is slated to vote on a motion to invoke cloture for the nomination of Terrance Cole of Virginia to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement – and the final confirmation would then follow a day or two later. On Tuesday, the senators are expected to vote on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026.
All of this follows one of those long weekends Trump mentioned in his social media post. The Senate adjourned at 6:17 p.m. Thursday, July 17, and lawmakers weren’t planning to come back until 3 p.m. Monday. They plan to take the entire month of August off, as well.
And if that’s as far back as you look, Trump’s request might seem downright reasonable. But this particular time, it isn’t a matter of lazy legislators – as it often has been in the past. The past several months, and especially the last few weeks, have been marked by late nights – including several all-nighters – and no time off for the weekend. In fact, some of those all-day, all-night marathons were over the weekend.
Keep the Hits Rolling!
The president asked a lot of the legislature so far this session, but congressional Republicans have largely delivered. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, DOGE cuts, a crypto law, and, to date, 94 appointees confirmed by the Senate. But the seven scheduled for this week are just a drop in the bucket of what’s left – all told, 262 nominees still await confirmation by the Senate.
President Trump’s mindset seems to be “Why wait?” Keep the hits rolling in – is anyone tired of winning yet? As inconsequential a throw-away line as that might have seemed at the time, Trump’s promise that Republicans would win so much they’d get tired of it is oddly beginning to look like just one more promise kept. After August – whether they get a break or not – lawmakers will have to get cracking on the 2026 budget, or, at least, a continuing resolution to buy time and stretch out that September 30 deadline a bit.
That said, the president’s call to skip breaks could be his way of applying pressure to get senators to hurry through the process rather than stonewalling on any of his nominees. The whole of Congress is likely ready for some rest and relaxation. Pushing Thune to keep the Senate working right on through the scheduled break might just inspire them to work quickly and hand the president more wins before the midterm campaign season arrives.
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