House and Senate Nearing Recess

Congress will slide toward its August recess by doing what every high school student dreams of: putting off the hardest projects until later.

In many ways, the last few months have been quite productive under Republican control, particularly when viewed through the lens of sheer expectations. Congress handed President Obama a major policy victory — the path to pursue a sweeping trade deal that officials are working out this week in Hawaii. A bipartisan coalition fought for, and achieved, broad revisions to the Patriot Act.

The once seemingly essential appropriations bills now seem to matter less because Democrats in the Senate pledged to filibuster all of them anyway, preferring a new broad budget agreement. Instead, Congress is most likely to try to cobble together a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to avoid a messy fight over how to pay for government services before Pope Francis arrives to address Congress. Some House Republicans are already threatening not to pass a spending bill in the fall if it has funding for Planned Parenthood. That will be followed quickly by a fight over the debt ceiling, which will be competing for attention with a potential fight over the Iran nuclear deal.