Can more time in Washington save the stalled GOP agenda?

WASHINGTON—Behind on a laundry list of GOP agenda items, the Senate added two weeks to its legislative calendar—some House colleagues want the same—but running out of time is a symptom of a larger Republican problem.

Senate Republicans are in the middle of a heated healthcare battle, just one item on their docket of unfinished business. Lawmakers need to secure funding for U.S. troops by finalizing the defense authorization act. Republicans and Democrats also need to find a compromise on how to appropriate federal funds for 2018 before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. The U.S. Treasury has been using special accounting measures to borrow enough money to avoid default. The current debt limit is set at $19.81 trillion, but the Congressional Budget Office predicts by mid-October the Treasury risks defaulting on some of its payments unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.

“Whether you are on the left end of the political spectrum, on the right end, or somewhere in between, it’s difficult to dispute the fact that there’s a lot that needs to be done,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

These are all obligatory, which means Congress has little time to pursue the legislative items President Donald Trump championed on the campaign trail—healthcare, tax reform, rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. Republicans have yet to deliver on a single major legislative victory more than six months into Trump’s presidency.

Trump blames the slow pace on Democrats obstructing everything—and he has a point, especially when it comes to appointments.

The Senate is responsible for confirming hundreds of political appointments to fill executive branch desks. So far, the Senate has confirmed just 48 of Trump’s 197 nominations for federal agencies and only three of his 23 judicial nominations.

Most of the time, for less controversial appointments, the Senate allows members to confirm nominees by a voice vote to save time. But just 10 percent of Trump’s nominations have passed the Senate with a voice vote, while 90 percent of President Barack Obama’s nominees cleared that way. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded to call roll, even for undisputed appointments. The Senate confirmed David Nye as an Idaho federal court judge by a vote of 100-0 on Wednesday after Schumer stalled the process for three days.

“At the current rate, it would take 11 years and four months to confirm the nominees that have to be confirmed by the Senate,” said Sen. Roy Blount, R-Mo. “It is unacceptable and outrageous. Something has to change.”

Shortening the August recess is good messaging for Republicans who want to appear productive, especially in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promises, but it’s hard to imagine an extra two weeks will catch them up.

Healthcare catch-22

Senate Republicans plan to vote on a healthcare reform bill next week. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will convene all Senate Republicans on Thursday to discuss the detailed contents of the latest iteration of his healthcare legislation. McConnell did the same thing on June 22 when he released the first draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act. At that time, he said Republicans would vote the following week but canceled after failing to whip enough support.

Since then, not a single objecting Republican senator has changed his or her vote. Both conservative and moderate members of the GOP continue to criticize the process.

Just about every Republican who has run for federal office in the last seven years campaigned on repealing and replacing Obamacare. Presented now with the opportunity, the GOP can’t settle on how to do it.

“I miss the old days, when Republicans stood for repealing Obamacare,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wrote on Wednesday. “The Senate Obamacare bill does not repeal Obamacare. Not even close.”

Republicans now realize they are stuck in a catch-22 scenario. They all agree Obamacare needs a fix but few options have universal support.

Because Republicans are using the reconciliation process to avoid needing Democratic votes, they can’t repeal every part of the Affordable Care Act. They can alter the healthcare system in pretty significant ways, but they can’t start from scratch. If whatever they pass fails to lower healthcare costs, Republicans bear all the blame. If they do nothing and let Obamacare collapse, like President Donald Trump claims will happen, they are responsible for that too, even though none of them voted for the law.

“If we don’t pass it next week, we’ve got to do something because people are going to get hurt,” said Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., adding he’s less concerned about whether Republicans can call their bill a repeal: “I just want to get it fixed—get it right, that’s what people back home want.” —E.W.

Wray to go

FBI director nominee Christopher Wray won support from both sides of the aisle during his confirmation hearing Wednesday, teeing him up to lead the embattled bureau.

President Donald Trump caused a frenzy after he fired the agency’s last leader, James Comey, in May. Trump admitted to NBC News he was thinking about “the Russia thing” when he made the decision. Comey, who was in charge of the FBI’s inquiry into Russia’s alleged 2016 election meddling and any possible connections to the Trump campaign, told Congress last month Trump demanded his loyalty.

Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee no one at the White House asked for a loyalty pledge, something he would never give.

“I believe to my core that there is only one right way to do this job,” Wray said. “Faithful to the Constitution, faithful to our laws, and faithful to the best practices of the institution, without fear, without favoritism, and certainly without regard to any partisan political influence.”

Anyone who thinks he’ll pull his punches as FBI director doesn’t know him very well, he added.

The Senate confirmed Wray by unanimous voice vote in 2003, when President George W. Bush nominated him as assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. After his performance Wednesday, he should easily secure a repeat vote.

“I’ll be very candid with you, I’m going to vote yes,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. —E.W.

140-character challenge

A free-speech group sued President Donald Trump this week, claiming his Twitter use violates the First Amendment. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York filed the lawsuit on behalf of seven people Trump blocked on Twitter. The lawyers claim the president’s Twitter account has become an “important source” of government-related news, making any attempt to block access unconstitutional. Trump has yet to respond to the charge. —E.W.

Scalise out of ICU

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., has moved out of intensive care at MedStar Washington Hospital Center but remains in serious condition. Scalise is fighting an infection following multiple surgeries on a gunshot wound he suffered nearly a month ago. Scalise went back to the operating room last week after developing the infection. The single bullet that struck Scalise in the hip tore through blood vessels, bones, and internal organs. He is one of five people injured June 14 when a man with a long history of hating Republicans opened fire at a congressional GOP baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va. —Leigh Jones