The Senate is set to return this week, with a packed agenda awaiting the upper chamber. The chamber has been on a two-week hiatus, but now it's back to work, sprinting through the remainder of July and into the first week of August.
The return to work comes with its fair share of challenges. Divisions between the aisles and within the Senate GOP will make it difficult to move forward on various issues. The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has left Republicans with one less vote in their push to move the president's agenda.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will face the task of keeping his conference together, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats will look for fractures in the GOP's unity to slow down the president's agenda.
The president's determination to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has already caused delays. The act is a flagship election integrity legislation that the president is determined to see passed. However, the decision to attach the bill to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has raised concerns among Republicans.
Republicans fear that attaching the bill to the NDAA, which needs Democratic votes to pass, would give Democrats leverage to block the bill. "We really empower the Democrats to have a reason to be able to stop stuff that otherwise they would probably have to vote for," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said.
Other key priorities on the agenda include replacing acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Bill Pulte and confirming acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton, who was nominated to replace Pulte. Blanche's confirmation hearing is also scheduled for this week.
Republicans are also eager to begin the government funding process, but Democrats are expected to push for appropriations. The fear is that the Trump administration may withhold funding on some priorities, which would lead to a government shutdown.
Iran has also become a contentious issue. The administration's renewed strikes in Iran, which began last week, have raised concerns among lawmakers. Several lawmakers welcomed the temporary agreement with Iran to continue negotiating a longer-lasting peace, but that agreement has been nixed.
Democrats are expected to push for more votes on war powers resolutions in the coming weeks. Lawmakers have successfully passed a non-binding resolution to curb the president's authority in Iran, but fell short of passing a full-blown war powers resolution.
