Senate leadership’s hopes of passing a trio of spending bills before the August recess are dimming as senators from both parties raise objections.
Two Republicans told the Washington Examiner on Monday evening that they were blocking a request to bundle the three bills together, while a bloc of Democrats signaled they, too, would throw up procedural roadblocks that could drag the process out for days.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is delaying the legislation, known as a minibus, over proposed restrictions on the level of THC that can be present in hemp, a cannabis-derived product grown in his home state of Kentucky. The provision is tucked in the agriculture bill that would be considered alongside appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies.
“If we can get an agreement on that, then we’ll release our hold on the bill,” Paul said.
Separately, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is seeking to ensure that money flows to the Fort Leonard Wood military base in Missouri, citing a need for improvements to its housing and hospital infrastructure. The minibus would also fund military construction projects.
“I want to make sure that we’re actually doing right by them, that they’re taken care of,” Hawley said.
The objections, and others like them, threaten to limit GOP progress on federal spending with weeks until a September shutdown deadline. Senate Republicans have begun to move the military construction legislation across the Senate floor to get consent to add the other two. However, Senate rules allow any senator to impede that request, and it would require 67 votes to suspend the rules.
Senate GOP leadership is not exploring that option for now as Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the top Republican appropriator, negotiates with the holdouts.
“Obviously, I’d like to do three before we break for the recess,” Collins said as she left an appropriations meeting in Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-SD) office on Monday. She also spoke with House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) over the weekend about plans for the minibus.
“He’s very excited about that prospect, too, because then we could start doing some conference over the August recess,” she said. “So that would be real progress.”
The number of GOP “holds” has been shrinking. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said he had an initial objection over the VA’s abortion policy, but later dropped it after speaking with the department.
Still, Paul said his negotiations with leadership were not “getting anywhere” and that he wanted a change in language, not simply an amendment vote. Meanwhile, Democrats who opposed a floor vote last week that jump-started the appropriations process sounded unlikely to help expedite Senate passage without concessions of their own.
In particular, Democrats have asked for assurances that Republicans won’t pass another clawback in funds like the rescission bill that passed Congress this month in a party-line vote. The legislation revoked $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting dollars that Congress had previously appropriated.
“I’m skeptical of the whole process,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (R-CA), one of the procedural “no” votes. “If they’re gonna govern by rescission and reconciliation, then whatever we produce here may simply be temporary and eviscerated on a partisan basis.”
Collins has already made at least one concession. She dropped appropriations for the legislative branch out of the minibus at the request of Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who wanted lower funding levels.
But Democrats have yet to address the objections within their own caucus. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democratic appropriator, told the Washington Examiner she is waiting to see if Republicans “have an agreement to put things together.”
“We’re working through them and we’re making good progress on our side,” Collins said of her negotiations. “I hope the Democrats will start their process soon.”
MIKE WALTZ UN NOMINATION ADVANCES AFTER BRIEF SENATE DELAY
Senators are in Washington, D.C., for the remainder of the week, and likely the weekend, as they seek a separate deal on a backlog of Trump administration nominees that require Senate confirmation.
On Monday, Thune said that Republicans had not “ruled out” keeping the Senate in session through part of August to process those nominees if a deal with the Democrats cannot be reached.