Senate Leaves Town With Trump Priorities Unfinished

With the U.S. Senate skipping town for a five-week summer recess, lawmakers not only bailed out without approving President Donald Trump’s signature SAVE America Act, but left scores of presidential nominations awaiting action more than 18 months into his second term.

The Republican-controlled Senate adjourned after a marathon final session without passing Trump’s election-integrity legislation, which would impose new proof-of-citizenship and voter-identification requirements. The measure failed to attract sufficient support even among Republicans.

The Senate will continue holding brief “pro forma” sessions during extended breaks, a procedure that effectively prevents Trump from using his constitutional recess-appointment power to temporarily fill vacancies without confirmation. The practice has been used against presidents of both parties since the Supreme Court sharply limited recess appointments in 2014.

That leaves Trump dependent on the Senate’s “advice and consent” role to fill positions across the federal government.

The Senate did clear a major backlog before leaving Washington, confirming 74 Trump nominees on Aug. 7, including 11 ambassadors and six assistant secretaries of state. Still, the Senate’s Executive Calendar lists more than 90 civilian nominations pending, with additional nominees awaiting committee action.

Among nominees advanced by committee but awaiting final action are Brett Matsumoto for commissioner of labor statistics and James Macy for the National Labor Relations Board.

The confirmation fight has been unusually contentious. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has accused Democrats of unprecedented obstruction, noting that Trump became the first president on record to go through his first year without a single civilian nominee approved by unanimous consent or voice vote. Republicans responded by changing Senate procedures to allow groups of lower-level nominees to be confirmed together.

Trump’s relationship with Senate Republicans adds another wrinkle: before Thune became majority leader, Trump explicitly demanded that GOP leadership allow recess appointments to speed confirmation of his team.