Mike Lee is pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to cancel the August recess so the Senate can keep debating the GOP Save America Act debate. Lee said he will object to any effort to put the chamber into recess in August until the SAVE America Act passes.
Lee also requested a roll call vote on adjournment for five weeks over most of August and early September. He wrote on X that the Senate does not need a summer vacation as much as the country needs the SAVE America Act, making the vote a test of whether the chamber stays in Washington or leaves for the break.
Mike Lee and John Thune
The push comes after the Senate spent several weeks on the bill and has already voted on it in whole or in part at least five times. The legislation has not come close to the 60 votes needed to pass, and no Democrat supports it.
Lee’s demand forces Thune to choose between a recess and more floor time on a bill that has already consumed weeks of debate. If Thune allows a roll call vote on adjournment, senators would have to go on record about whether the chamber should remain in session through Labor Day.
Ashley Moody in Washington
Rick Scott said he would vote to stay in session unless the Senate has passed the SAVE America Act. Ashley Moody said she would prefer to stay in Washington in August instead of returning to Florida for an extended period to meet with constituents. Jim Banks said he was ready to cancel the five-week recess to debate the bill.
That leaves at least three GOP incumbents who could benefit from campaigning at home during August and early September while Senate conservatives want the chamber to keep working in Washington. Susan Collins, Jon Husted and Dan Sullivan are among the senators who would lose that time at home if the recess is canceled.
June Vote and Midterms
The fight follows a failed effort in June to attach President Trump’s preferred version of the SAVE America Act to a $70 billion budget reconciliation package. Four Republicans voted against Lindsey Graham’s amendment, including Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, Mitch McConnell and Susan Collins.
Chuck Schumer has called the bill Jim Crow 2.0, while Tillis has said he will oppose any effort to implement the election rewrite before the 2026 midterms. The next step is Thune’s decision on whether the Senate votes to adjourn for five weeks or stays in Washington long enough to keep the bill on the floor.
