Senate Hunts for Deal to Start Recess as To-Do List Grows

Washington — Senate leaders are searching for an agreement to speed up votes on a crowded list of priorities, with government funding and the confirmation of Todd Blanche as attorney general among the items standing between senators and their five-week August recess.

"There's still a lot of stuff that's piled up, trying to get through," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CBS News on Thursday. "So we'll see again how much cooperation we have from Democrats on how quickly we can process some of these things. But there are some things we have to move, for sure."

The list includes a continuing resolution to keep the government funded beyond the midterm elections, a package of dozens of executive branch nominees, a Russia sanctions bill, a bipartisan college athletics measure and the vote on Blanche.

Thune set up votes on several of those items earlier in the week, but leaders would need the consent of all 100 senators to move faster. The South Dakota Republican has said he intends to keep the chamber in session until most of the list is cleared.

"I would like to be able to get as much business done as we can, knowing full well that when we get back here in September, it's going to be a mad rush to Election Day," he said earlier this week.

Without a deal, a spokesperson for Thune said the agenda would carry the Senate "well into next week."

Sticking points remain, including among Republicans. Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina wants to strip language from the funding bill that would delay a ban on some hemp products, citing concern about cannabis use by minors.

Blanche's path is also uncertain. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said this week she will vote against him. With Sen. Mitch McConnell absent, Republicans can afford only one more defection, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy have not said how they will vote. Democrats, opposed to Blanche, may decline to speed up the process.

Also unresolved is a House-passed budget resolution the White House has made a top priority, the first step toward a reconciliation package funding the Pentagon and farm aid, and including elements of the SAVE America Act. Thune said support within his conference remains unclear.

"It's still a work in progress," he said.